It has been awhîle

I am sorry it has been awhile since I posted a new blog entry. This next week is the last week of 2nd quarter at school. This quarter was packed full of activities(Mothers day, Fathers day, Peru flag day, United States independence day, and finally Peru independence day). So many activities and projects to do with the children alongside of teaching the normal subjects.

July 4th was different this year. Yes, I was outside United States and got to look back and see how great it is to be an American. There are so many advantages that we have in the States, and other people are dreaming about. I spent July 4th teaching the children all about America, and some of the Peruvians had special goodies for all of us American personal. At the beginning of the day, all the elementary students gathered outside with all the American personal to pledge and sing the national anthem to our flag. It was very emotional hearing and getting to sing the anthem.

July 4th the school also celebrated teacher's day, which technically is today July 6th. The students brought in gifts for their teachers and made all the teachers feel special. I got several presents from my students and am enjoying them(especially the chocolate).

It is amazing to see God work in my life here in Lima. In the States, I was too independent for Gods help. Here in Lima I rely on God in daily, no an hourly basis. I am reaching out to Him when I am just frustrated in little things( i.e. learning the language).

Spanish is coming slowly, but I can now fake my way around situations. I can confidently take a bus to church by myself and can ask a taxi how much they charge to go somewhere. It is rather interesting getting ready for phonics class in my classroom because as I am learning the Spanish phonics sometimes I say the Spanish phonics or think it while saying the American phonics. It gets rather confusing at times when I can not remember which phonics sounds to use.

I am enjoying the cooler weather in the winter season, and have figured out that winter here means a wet humidity which for people with asthma means trips to the clinic to get a breathing treatment. Thankfully I haven't had asthma problems in two weeks so hopefully,that means I am getting used to the wet, humid weather.

Just a quick update with how I am doing. Thanks for praying for me and I will try to be better at the updating.:-)

Quick post :-)

I can not believe it is June already! Sometimes it does not seem real that I am here in Lima teaching and that it is just a dream. My adorable four year olds are learning, and we have fun each and every day.

I have been evaluating them every two weeks on numbers and phonics and am pleased with the progress each one of them are making each time :-)

This past week one of the teachers had some visitors come to Lima for the first time, and on Friday night we got to take them to Jockey Plaza,which is the mall here and hang out with them. It was encouraging to be able to ministry to some visitors, and I discovered that I was able to help order for them and give them a mini lesson in Spanish.

Also, this past weekend was the yearly yard sale at the missionary school that is close to ours. All of us missionaries went, and we were able to get in an hour before everyone else and look through everything. I bought 10 books, a watch, some games and movies and items for my classroom.

The weeks are flying by, and I am enjoying myself here so much. I am truly enjoying the Peruvian food(rice and chicken mainly) :-)

First experiences :-)

The weather is changing from summer to winter, as I look outside there is not a speck of sunshine. I have found out that the Peruvians wear jackets and bundle up when the temperatures get under 70.

This week I have learned several new phrases in Spanish and have learned how to ask taxi drivers how much it would cost to go to the location. Also, this week I have eaten at the local burger restaurant called Bembos. Their burgers and fries are so good, and their ice cream is incredible.

Last week we had no school, but that did not mean that the teachers slept a lot that week. We were still at school setting up our classroom and working on lesson plans for the quarter. I am enjoying teaching four-year old class and have discovered new ways of teaching and love each day with the children.

Next week the kids will put on their music play for their parents on Thursday. They have learned 4 songs and will be dressed up in costumes(the songs are Hickory Dickory Dock, Let Us Go To the Zoo, I Have A Pet, and Yes I Can).

This week we had a mission team from Brazil come and talk to the children and do an art project and give a short Bible lesson. They came during the day, so we had some rearranging to do in the day and the children were a bit wild.

I have experienced my first tremble(small earthquake). It was last week during the night; we were all awake making guacamole and popcorn when the windows started rattling, and the floor shook, not huge, but it was noticeable. When you feel a tremor, you are supposed to get under a doorway. However, it was my first tremble I panicked and froze right below the lights. Thankfully it happened at home and not at school where I have to be brave and in control of 24 children.

Another update :-)

So much has happened since my last post. First of all, for a week and a half, I was on bed rest after hurting my knee at school. I found out that the small bones underneath my knee cap was broken and have to have surgery to fix it. I also found out that bed rest, and I do not like each other, by the third day I wanted to go to school although my supervisor knew me too well and told me I couldn't return until the doctor said it was OK.

Friday was our mother's day program and mother's day is a huge deal here in Lima. The children make crafts and put on a little program for their mothers and then they can go home as soon as they are done. We also had a special gathering for the mothers that are on staff at the school. <

Here in Lima the school systems run thru quarters, each school year is divided into 4 quarters, each quarter is 9 weeks and after the last week of school the school closes for a week except for after the second quarter where you have a 3 week break. It is nice to have a week in between quarters to get report cards and ready for the next quarter and to catch up on some sleep.

Enjoy :-)

Not what i had in mind but God is good!

So this week has not been a normal week for me. Monday was normal; I went to school and did everything normal. Throughout the day, I started to notice that my knee started to hurt, but I just ignored it and went right on with my activities. Tuesday morning as I was getting ready for school I noticed that my knee still was hurting, and a tad swollen. No big deal probably just strained it from picking up a child and having to kneel down a lot. Did not know anything was wrong, and went into school and started my day normal, however, by the afternoon my knee was hurting a lot, and I couldn't put pressure on it.

So Tuesday when the kids left, and I noticed my knee was still hurting I decided I could tough it out until 4:10 and then go back home and ice and take some Advil. After my lunch break, I was trying to find a good wireless connection to print off some papers. In the process, I knelt down to look at the process when something in my left knee popped and when it popped I fell backwards grabbing my knee and crying out in pain. Here in Lima you go to the doctor for everything even if it doesn't seem to be a big deal. The school nurse looked at my knee, by this time my knee and toes were swollen, and gave me some Panadol (Spanish for Tylenol) and ice pack. We were trying to figure out who would go with me since my Spanish is still in the beginner stage.

Finally, we made it to the Clinica(Spanish for hospital) and the doctor came in right away. In the states, you will be waiting for hours. Here in Lima I think we waited maybe 5 minutes. The doctor did some test and gave me some prescription and told me to go across the street to get x-ray. The doctor is sure that I damaged the cartilage in my knee, and he has ordered me to rest for 3-5 days.

This is not what I had planned especially since next week is report cards and I have to evaluate my students and next Friday is our mothers day program. But I keep on telling myself that God is good, and He knew his would happen and that this was part of His plan. In Bible, the kids are learning Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength a very present help in time of trouble." Who knew that I needed that verse this week.

As of today my knee is still throbbing with pain but it is now a tolerable pain, and I have changed from bed rest to couch rest to have a change of scenery. I still haven't gotten the results back from the x-ray but hopefully, today I will hear back from them.

Another week has past(supercalifragalisticespaladocious)

Another week is done, and it seems like the weeks here fly by faster than it did in the States. Then again, in the States,I had the children for 12 hours a day and the days just seemed to drag. In Peru, the children leave at 1:15 and we have the rest of the afternoon to work on the next day and Fridays we work on lesson plans for the next week.

I can see changes in the children here, and they have started looking at me as their teacher and that they need to obey me. They also are learning the vowels and numbers better than I expected; I only have to say 'Speak in English" only 4 times a day now. Teaching in another culture after having years of experience in the States is proving to be harder than I thought, not bad just hard. There are several things that teachers do in the States that are not acceptable here in Lima, for example, in the States, it is expected almost in a way that a preschool teacher gets on the floor and play with the kids. In Lima, a teacher should never play with the children. I had to learn a new way of teaching and simply put away what I did in the past.

I am getting more and more comfortable teaching here with the children, at first I was very hesitating and not sure if they would understand everything I do and say. But now the children are more and more eager, and I have found that if I have one fun activity for them to do that the lesson goes better. The children are also teachers in a sense that every day they are teaching me a new Spanish word or phrase. Being here and not having a lot of Spanish knowledge is rough but I am in class and am working everyday error every hour and practicing my Spanish and hopefully in no time I will start understanding.

I have found a church here (Inglesia Vida Nuevo), and I love it. It reminds me of Suber Road Baptist Church and is the only church that has English translations so I can understand the message. I have come to the point where singing the songs I don't use the translation device but try sing along in Spanish to see how it goes. There are several families from the school that goes to the church and, in fact, one of my student's family goes there.

The experience overall has been fun. I would encourage everyone to go on a mission trip or if they gave some time to help out somewhere in the world. I am not going to lie to you the first month is hard, and you will be broken physically, emotionally, mentally thru the whole getting used to everything. The first month I was experiencing cultural shock (my stomach had to adjust to the foods here, and the routines and habits of the Peruvians, and just being exhausted from getting off the plane and diving head first into the school year).

It is still a challenge, but I am loving every minute that I have with the children and also with the other teachers. Giannina de la Cruz is my co teacher, and she is the best that there is. She is very caring, and she loves the school and the children. She is understanding of what I am going thru and is patient and I am trying to find how to teach the children and accepting that I do not know the Peruvian way so I will slip up daily(ok not daily but it seems like). My students names are Jordan, Sofia, Leonardo, Mateo D., Antonella, Astrid E., Thiago, Valeria, Belen, Mikel, Franco, Mateo C., Hadassah, Moises, Flavia, Romina, Ana Claudia, Tiziana, Alonso, Maria Fernanda, Daniel, Astrid M., Kyara, Lucciano.Their names are harder to say than they look believe me.They are a joy to teach and have constantly been reminded that Miss Matthews does not speak or understand Spanish so if they speak in Spanish than I can not help them unless they speak in English.

I have to get back to work and finish my lesson plans( I mean start) and get ready for tomorrow where I can sleep all day long and just relax and drink coffee :)

Thanks everyone for praying for me, I have felt the many prayers every single day :)

Every Day is an Adventure

Life has become very busy but good these past few weeks. At first I would just go to school and stay until 4:10 and then come back to the house to relax. Now I wish I would leave at 4:10, I am lucky if I leave around 6:30 at night and then sometimes a group of teachers goes to a few restaurants with air conditioning to work on lesson plans and paper- work. On the weekends, I will sleep in the morning and help out at a local church with their Awana program.

Today, however, was Family Activity Day at school so from 9-1 we all were at school playing and enjoying the fellowship of the families and other teachers. My games was called Minefield(which is where we create a maze out of balls, cones, ropes, and such and the person going thru the maze is blindfolded and has to listen to the ones behind them getting from start to finish without stepping on the "mines") and we has a blast playing the game :)

I am getting more confident speaking Spanish and have learned a few phrases and that I have repeated several times, and am looking forward to the tutoring for Spanish so that I can have a set schedule of when I am going to practice Spanish.

One Month :)

I have been in Peru for one month today and have loved it very much!!!!! There have been some difficult moments but nothing that is not normal for someone adjusting to a new culture and new life. This month has gone by so quickly and have learned several new Spanish phases and learned some important need to know information. The hardest part at start was the kiss on the cheek when people greet you and say goodbye, at first I was uncomfortable with it but now I have started to do it(when I go to the States for Christmas I might greet everyone with a kiss on the cheek lol).

I have also become confident enough to take the buses to school and to church and to the house by myself. Taking the bus is literally an adventure every time. They pack the buses so tight to where everyone is very snug up to each other. I have gained quite some muscles holding on to dear life when I have to stand up on the buses. Twice I have been literally at the door while the bus is moving. I have not fallen out of the bus thankfully. If you don't want to take the bus, you could always take the taxi but you have to be very cautious when taking taxis so for that reason I tend to stick to buses.

The school is about 15 minutes walking and 5-10 minutes taking the bus from the house. I teach K4 and have 24 students. They are a joy to teach and some days tend to be disobedient but over all a joy. I teach Phonics, Math and Language and share opening routine and Bible with the other teacher(who teachers Science, Skills, and Art). I spent last week talking about the United States and bought in Dr Pepper and Cherry Coke(there is a grocery store that sells American products but they tend to be a little pricey) for the students to taste. I also bought in Inca Kola which is the soda here in Peru, it is like Mountain Dew and Cream Soda put together.

This week at school was a very short week. Monday and Tuesday was a normal teaching day, but Wednesday was a whole school activity. Every class went to different locations to spread the Gospel and pass out tracts and Bibles to the people. My class went to a local preschool and sang "I Have The Joy Joy Joy Down In My Heart" in English and Spanish. We also told the Easter story and passed out little baggies filled with treats along with the tracts and Bibles. The children were amazingly good(until we got back to the school) on the bus and at the other school.

The food here in Lima is very good, we are eating a lot of chicken and rice which are two of my favorite dishes so I am happy. The past week however I have been eating only crackers and Gatorade and ginger ale cause my stomach was getting used to the food. The Peruvians eat their big meal at lunch(which is around 2 p.m. ) and then have a little snack at night time. I am getting used to that routine but sometimes it is nice to have a sandwich and chips for lunch and have a decent size supper.

The weather here never changes. Since we are in the desert there is little to no rain. If it does rain it sprinkles for a few minutes and then it is done. Since it is a desert there is dust everywhere and you are covered from head to toe at the end of the day. The temperate right now is about 80 degrees(it is summer time right now) during the day and 69 degrees at night. Winter will start at the end of May to beginning of June and then it will get cloudy and down to about 50 degrees.

There is no air conditioning or heating system at the house and school so we use fans everywhere and have windows and doors opened and drink alot of water. I have drunk more water since I came down here. In the States I would drink maybe 5 cups of water a day, but here I am drinking more like 20(no exaggeration) cups of water a day.

Two weeks done!

I have been in Lima for about two weeks and have loved every moment of it. The weather here is nice cause it never changes so you always know what to expect. I have recently experienced the routine stomach issues adjusting to a new culture and foods and hopefully I am over that cause it is not fun. School is interesting at this point, the kids are slowly learning that if they speak in Spanish I will not help them cause I have no clue what they are saying. I am working on a few key phases that I can pull out when they are not listening to me in English, so far I have go, sit, stay, no, yes, stop, listen, and quiet in Spanish down pat. The kids are funny when I speak in Spanish cause they get this very scared look on their face as of if they are thinking "wait you just spoke in Spanish, we are in trouble". The church that I have been attending as a translation device so that is good for people coming who know none to little Spanish. However this week I was on sermons audio and fount my church in Greenville, Suber Road Baptist Church, on there so I have been listening to messages in the afternoons to just stay in the word and be encouraged. Thank you all for praying I appreciate it and feel the prayers on hard days.

New Month, New Ministry, New Culture

As of yesterday I boarded a plane for Lima,Peru. This is my first time out of the United States. Got to Lima about 12:30 this morning and slept for about 5 hours. I got a chance to go over to the school this afternoon to meet the teachers and staff and some of the staff children. Played a vigioroua game of volleyball and had a cookout and got to know several people. I experienced my first bus ride this afternoon which was interesting and scary at the same time. The house that I am staying out over looks the Andes mountains(which I thought was cool cause growing up I read about the Andes mountains and now they are essentially in my backyard). The house does have a pool and a pool house and at least 9 bedrooms and a lot of bathrooms. It is a huge house to where you won't be bumping into people. School starts on Monday and I can not wait to meet my 24(that's right that is how many students I have) students.In preschool there are two teachers(Peruvian and American) and I will primarily be teaching Phonics, Math, and Social Studies.

God's Timing

The past year of my life has reflected to goodness of God. Back in the summer of 2012 I started praying that God will provide me a mission opportunity as my teaching job at the time was closing due to lack of students. I started applying for jobs with the prayer "God show me Your will". After months of praying and applying for jobs several mission opportunities opened up as a test from God to see if I wad willing to leave my comfort zone. In January 2013 I was looking at a career web page and saw a need for a preschool teacher in Lima, Peru. After praying over it I felt the Lord saying to submit my resume. God has opened the door for me to travel to Lima, Peru and to teach K4 at La Molina Christian School. I am excited for this opportunity to grow and to serve the Lord. This process of waiting on the Lord has definitely taught me patience and to accept that God knows your need and that He has something better in mind for every individual. The verse that has been a help to me is Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you."