a few weeks ago....

I am really bad with blogging about things when they happen. A few weeks ago...March 19th to be exact...I had my 3rd grade girls over for a sleepover. My roommate, who happens to be the 5th grade teacher, and I thought it would be fun to have our girls over one weekend. At first we were going to do it together, but her 14 girls and my 11 girls would make a total of 25 girls. AND that would have been ridiculous. So we decided to have them over 2 seperate weekends. Her 5th grade girls came the weekend before mine. Both weekends were a lot of fun and I am so glad we did it. I was a little worried with my group, that they may be too young, feelings could get hurt, girls get homesick, etc. But it was a very exciting and memorable night, as you can see from the pictures. The girls stayed after school with me and rode the teacher bus home. We put in the movie, UP, right away, while I ordered the pizza! After pizza, I jokingly said that I was going to send them outside to play in the dark. Next thing I know, they are all putting on shoes and jackets. Haha. So out we went....no worries we just played around in the garden area right behind my apartment and told stories. It was a really sweet time. I taught them how to play mafia, but that only lasted a few rounds (can be quite difficult and complicated with 8 year olds, and half of them are ESL). A night of pillow fights and dancing followed. My girls COULD NOT believe that their teacher danced. They said I was a good teacher, but that I should have been a dancer and singer. I was that good :)At 11pm, we put in Pippy Longstocking to watch (it was going to be Annie, but it is rated PG for language!) I slept in the room with them incase there were any problems. At 6am they started stirring and talking, I very calming told them it was WAY to early to be awake and there was to be no talking. That lasted an hour. At 7, I turned the movie back on and kept sleeping on the couch. At 8 I finally got up to fix pancakes.
While waiting for parents to arrive we danced. The night before I had taught them all kinds of lines dances (Tush Push, Cha Cha Slide, Cupid Shuffle, Hoedown Throwdown). It was a fun and exhausting weekend. I look forward to doing it again, but not for another year!!

Spring Break!

Well spring break is officially over...I go back to school and back to reality tomorrow. The past 10 days were incredible. I had such a wonderful time with my friends from America and it was a truly a delight to be with them. I could go on and on about how great it was to spend time with friends from college, to have them in my city for a week, to catch up, etc - but instead I'll just comment briefly on a few highlights from the week.

First off, I have lived here for over a year now and this past week I experienced my city in a way I never have before. We spent the entire week with Turks who were intent on showing us a good time. They took us everywhere - a few places I had been before and several new places. It was awesome. The eating feast and talking never stopped, I loved every minute. We literally went from one restaurant or cafe to another - eating waffles, chocolate, pasta, meat, sandwiches and drinking coffee, tea, ayran, etc. Almost every night we had to take a taxi back home because by the time we stopped fellowshiping the buses had quit running. This gave me A LOT of practice with my Turkish :)

New favorite things to do: Nargile and Tavla, Singing Karoke in Taksim
New places to go: Caddebostan Parki, KOÇ UNIVERSITY
New foods: Kokoreç (not my favorite), Sütiş Restaurant in Emirgan
More fun stuff: Riding bikes around Prince's Islands, going to football games/practices, Hamam (Turkish Bath), Terayki Cafe and Park

All in all it was a fabulous week. I grew to love this country and the people here even more and am grateful my friends were able to experience a part of my life. Here are a few pictures...I'll put more on facebook soon.

A Perfect Day

Yesterday was such a great day...for so many reasons. First of all, it was Friday and the last day before Spring Break. It was also the day that some dear friends from Raleigh arrived. Oh what joy!! I had looked forward to this day for quite some time and was thrilled when it finally arrived. I had a few fun things planned for the afternoon - dying eggs and my kids had earned a ice cream sundae party for learning all their times tables - and so I knew I needed some help. I was going to ask a few parents to come in, but then thought I would ask to see if my friends wanted to help. They were such troopers, especially since they literally stepped off the plane and came straight to my school.

They are not words to adequately describe how incredible it was to see all their sweet faces and get some hugs. Having them at school with me all afternoon – helping in my classroom and playing with my kids – was wonderful. I have had friends/family come visit and have always taken them out to my school to show them around. But this was the first time I have had friends spend the day with me at school. Here are some pictures from my perfect day :)



Daniel and Andrew played Hangman with my kids - this entertained them for a long time and they loved it!Sitting with Quinn and catching up - priceless!Quinn surrounded by my 3rd graders - helping them dye eggs.In line for the Easter Egg Hunt. Paige was so kind to stop by CVS last minute (like an hour before going to the airport) to get me some eggs. It was great, some of my kids had never done this before.Multiplication Ice Cream Sundae Party...everyone was such a HUGE help!

Take Me In

My heart has been heavy all day. Good stuff, just weighty.

This past week, I have been studying the Tabernacle with my kids. I've studied the Tabernacle several times throughout highschool and college. In 7th grade at HCA, I had to make a Tabernacle (with the help of my daddy). My junior year of college while studying Hebrews with some girls, I once again did an indepth look at the Tabernacle. I have heard countless talks and songs about the Tabernacle. I can tell you all about the pieces of furniture, exactly where everything was located, what the furnishings were made of, the types of fabrics they used, etc.

But today as I explained the connection between the OT and NT to my precious 8 year old children, it really hit me. What would it have been like to be an Israelite thousands of years ago? To have been slaves in Egypt for 400 years and watch God miraclousy free you. To be caught in a terrible cycle of sin and regret. To sacrifice animals for your sins, yet it never really clear your conscience. To not be allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, but to have to send the High Priest in for you. To sit outside the Tabernacle, hoping forgiveness would come. Hoping your offering would be pleasing to God. Hoping it would be enough.

Sacrifice after sacrifice, day after day, year after year...it was never enough. The law required blood, because blood signified death. And death showed that some price had been paid for the sin. I can't imagine the remorse, the guilt, and helplessness they must have felt as they wandered and hoped that a better way would come. A more reliable attonement. A true forgiveness.

I closed out the lesson by playing the song "Take Me In" It is one I have heard over and over again, and often skip when playing my AD album. But today tears were brought to my eyes, as I sang the simple lyrics with my kids:

Take me into the holy of holies
Take me in by the blood of the lamb
Take me into the holy of holies
Take the coal, touch my lips, here I am

Take me past all the people, past the altars, even past the priests. I want rightousness. I want God's presence. I stand in awe of a God who provided a better way. A better sacrfice. A better Savior. Hallelujah!

February Update

February was an extremely busy (and somewhat stressful month). Kinda bizarre since it is so short and the 1st week we were on semester break from school. I spent that whole week grading projects, meeting up with friends, and attending 2 teacher inservice days. At the end of it all I felt like I needed a vacation. And the 3 weeks of February that I was in school was craziness...I started these new Reading Centers with my kids, which has been great but means a lot more planning and grading on my part. Plus one of my TAs (a parent) has been out for the whole month, I didn't realize how much I depend on her help. Needless to say my weekends have been very important and at times, my saving grace. It is crucial for me to have time away from school. The best weekend by far was the weekend of Valentines' Day, and it wasn't because I have some love interest :) Friday I went over to some girlfriend's house for a delicious dinner and a movie. I was able to see some girls I hadnt seen in a very long time and it was great to catch up. Saturday evening was the High School Hoedown at my school. I went last year and helped teach a few dances, and was looking forward to going again. Let me just say that it was a blast! You all know that I LOVE LOVE LOVE to dance and I dont get many opportunities here (except in my apartment) to dance. And you probably also know that I LOVE to teach people new dances and get them all into it. So I just had to teach the Hannah Montana dance to Hoedown Throwdown. It was simply amazing.

And then on Sunday after church a few friends went over to Chili's for lunch. It was delicious as always, and the manager said, "Well hello again Jules, I see you more than my family!" He is the one from NCSU. I loved all the fun Valentine's decorations around the city!

Disasters

Over the last month the literature unit we have been doing in Language Arts has been titled: Disasters. Our reading stories have included Titanic...Lost and Found, Patrick and the Great Molasses Explosion, and Pompeii, Buried Alive. As well we have been reading about earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis. So we have been talking a lot about disasters and how they impact people and communites. We have talked about how there is always choas in the midst of a disaster and for weeks/months afterwards. As we have read we have noticed that although you can try to prepare yourself for a disaster there is not much you can do to prevent one from happening. I think one of the most interesting things we have observed in the amount of hope (in something) that comes out during or after a disaster. As the Titanic sank, the band began playing hymns. During the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, the people in Pompeii ran to the temples to pray. I remember after 911, churches being packed with people.

In the midst of so much pain and uncertainty, people desperately need hope. They want to believe it is all going to be alright. They want things to return to normal. They want food and they want to survive. But what they really need is hope. And the only true hope we can offer them is found in JC. Yes they need their physical needs met. Yes they need to be loved. Yes they need to know that others care. But above all they need the only stable and true thing in this world…a God who deeply loves them.

This whole thing with Haiti has really caused me to think about life and how hard it can be. I have been so encouraged as I live in another country, to see people from all over the world come together to help the victims. I have gladly purchased over $30 in songs on Itunes in support of Haiti Relief Work – my two favorite being "We Are the World" and "Come Together Now." They are constantly playing on my ipod. I think this is good and so important…for people to come together and help during a tragedy. But my hope is that we are offering them more than love and support, but hope in the Gspl.

On a lighter note here are some pictures from class on Friday. We created our own erupting volcano. They loved it and it was really fun to do together!

Hello.

Well hello there. So this is my first post during the month of February. It is not that I have nothing to blog about. Infact it has been just the opposite. The month of February has flown by and it has been packed full of stuff. Every week was busy, and the weekends even busier - between school, seeing friends, and being out in the city. I find it hard to believe that March will be here in a few days. Anyways, I just wanted to say hey. I am still here and doing very well. I am quite happy and excited about how He is using me here. It has been a great month. Ill try to post some pictures soon.