Pool Day at the Piszar's!

We had a good time swimming at the neighborhood pool at the Piszar's house.  Ben, Arn and Tim loved to get together to play the playstation afterwards.  Bekah and Michael, Sarah and I all watched.

Emerson  most definitely did not enjoy the trip.  He tried to climb under the driver's seat and hide.  But we humans had a good time.  We travelled through Colorado first and it was nice and cool.  When we had gone through Texas and Oklahoma, it is sweltering! CO was a nice change.

A Great Summer of Rest and Family

It has been a Loong time since I have posted...sorry everyone.  Most of you know it was a very crazy year.  Another year of teaching kindergarten started simply enough, but ended with a major medical crisis, including surgery and about seven weeks out of school in recovery.  My mom was generous enough to come and sub for me, at the same time caring for the invalid (me).  So this summer, I just spent at my parents, resting and visiting with family.  I had a really good time with everyone.  I got to hang out with all my nieces and nephews, including the newest, Sarah's daughter Silja.  Here are some pictures from the trip and from the summer.  Hope you like them!

Mel

Please Note!

Hey Everyone,

The original post had a typo, so you may have had some trouble with Mission Munchkins.

I fixed the post and the link should work now.

Sorry!
Mel

Please Note

Mission Munchkins

Hey Everyone. This is just a note to let you know that I am moving all the Kindergarten and Mission news to its own blog.

Here is a link: http://missionmunchkins.blogspot.com/

I am still working out the kinks, but there are posts for you to read already!

Hope you like it
Mel

School's Back from Summer!!

So the summer was pretty crazy!



Fast and furious, with lots of doctor's visits and all the fun that goes with...


And then just before we left, we received some horrible news.
Katie, my cousin's wife, had suffered a brain anyuerism at the end of July, and was not expected to live. But a little more than a month later, and she has gotten to leave the hospital. The doctors have said over and over that they don't know what happened, why she is even alive, and why she is healing so quickly. But we do......
http://www.katiebloomprogress.blogspot.com


If you need to hear the stoy from the beginning, listen to the interviews with Davey on the radio. There is a link on the blog. Or you can go to http://confessionsofaslackermom.blogspot.com/2008_07_01_archive.html, Click on the July posts, then scroll down for a while and you will see Updates from Davey. Read through these to hear the amazing story.


I moved back in late July, and moved out of my apartment and into a house! Mom, Dad and Grandma all drove out to get me back and helped oodles with moving. I also have a house mate - Kelli Wilson. She taught first grade last year and is teaching junior high this year and handling the Library. We get along pretty well. Our cats, not so much:)



The first week is over and we are doing well here in Kindergarten land. Ten kids this year, so I have to remember some things from two years ago about how to run this size of a group. I got spoiled last year with only five! But they are a nice group and pretty smart. Pray for me and them all for the adjustment. I have a few kids who obviously have some church background, and that is always good, since they pipe up with answers and you don't hear crickets chirpping with every question :) They all need the Lord though, and so pray they hear with their hearts and respond.



Pray especially for Cameron and Jameson, who are having a hard time getting used to how you behave in a classroom setting and with other kids. But they are both sweet boys, so it is not hard to love them, even while I am pulling out my hair.



I will post some pictures in a little bit.

Bye for now

In Christ, Mel

I'm Loving Phonics

Moments I wish I had my camera with me....

When my Kindergarten students use their free play time to do phonogram practice.

Recently, I have started playing them a tape, just to make sure that they hear the correct sounds with each phonogram. So today, the girls all wanted to sit up at the front with the cards and the tape player and pretend to be the teacher. They held up the phonogram as the guy on the tape said the sound...it was so cute. Unfortunately my camera was at home. But I am posting some other pictures. Hope you like them.

100 days and counting!

We celebrated the 100th day last Wednesday. It was a little late, since Monday was a Mud Day!
We've counted each day, all the way up to 100 days of school, and we celebrated by doing lots of 100 activities. We had a "one hundred" snack (ten pieces each of ten different small snacks like goldfish), 100 puzzles, made a collage with one hundred (and more! Opps!) handprints. The kids brought in collections of one hundred things.

In the gym we got a little crazy with the 1st graders: one hundred jumps, silence for one hundred seconds and popping one hundred balloons. In the afternoon, we made some hats with one hundred stickers!

Here are some pictures from our big day! Thanks for everyone who sent things or money to get all our one hundred things.

Happy New Year!!!!

Happy 2008 everyone!!

I spent the holidays in Michigan with my parents, sisters, church family, and friends. It was a great time to visit with everyone and catch up.
Tommorrow, Thursday, I head back to the Rez.
Happy New Year to everyone!
Mel

The Votes are In!

Apparently, a motion was passed in the lower (penisula, that is) house in Michigan, and it is hereby mandated that I post some new news! The democratic process that makes this country great has superceded my procrastinatory tendancies and as I am a law abiding citizen, I will proceed to do my duty to home and country.

(If you are not a voting citizen of the house and the aforementioned motion makes no sense, please read the comments on my previous blog)

So, one day I was sitting in the hallway giving Thomas a test. He got distracted by my dangly earrings and started to play with them. "Teacher, where did you get these?" "I got them at the Piercing Pagoda, in the mall." I replied. "Oh!" he said, "I thought maybe Walmart!" Their frame of refrence concerning the outside world begins and ends at the Walmart!

We had an Emmaus group and I had a student in my class the entire week before spring break. That was really nice and I got some good ideas.

Spring Break went well and we got to visit a lot of friends and family all across the country.

The first week back went well. Six weeks to go and we have a busy month ahead of us. We had a group from Salon Biblico (Bible Hall) in Colorado came out to visit. It was really nice to meet them; their church has been supporting the mission for years, but we had never met any of them. We have begun the process of building a new building for the shop class building. This included moving a trailer and gutting it; the boys from the group really helped to get that done. Then we had a big bonfire on Friday night to burn all the stuff that came out of the trailer; lots of people from the community came out to watch and we all had fun.

I am going to try and plan a field trip for my class at the end of April or early May . There is a natural history museum in Farmington, with stuffed animals (taxidermy) and a section with live animals too. That should be fun.

I am also going to Albacurque with the 5th and 6th grade class for their trip. Aunt Ruth is going to substitute for me. Pray for her!

Also please pray that we find a 1st grade teacher for next year. I would be the next option (Yikes) and I would perfer not to teach first. But Uncle John thinks that we will get a teacher. We have two new teachers coming and one of them is married with at least one child. It will be nice to have some young kids living on the mission.

Hope that is enough news for now.

Hockey Town!

So the carnival came and went and was a success.
Anne Denny ran the thing, and signed me up for the hockey booth. Very appropriate for a girl from the Detroit area. I got to work on my slapshot all night. It was fun, the only sport I could actually help the kids with, so it worked out very well. It was really neat because I got to meet some of the kids from the neighborhood who don't go to Immanuel Mission School, and some who may be my students next year!

The next day I went with some friends to a place called Canyon de Chelle (pronounced shay) or Rock Canyon. It has cliff dwelling ruins, including one called "White House", and we hiked down 1.5 miles and then back up to see them. I got a lot of amazing pictures that I will try and post, once I figure out how to upload them and all.

Hope everyone is doing well.
Mel

Sometimes you feel like a ......

Nut! I almost always do!

That is not really the topice for today's blog, I just had that in my head.
So, I am down to 7 kids now in my class, and they are for the most part well behaved, for kindergarteners and we are starting to learn how each other work. I think I am beginning to get the hang of some things, but I still worry if I am teaching them what they need to know for first grade and is it sinking in! We are so behind in math, but then sometimes we aren't and I skip lessons 'cause they already know that! So, I can only really say that things are going. We are working on putting letter sounds to letters in a word, and writing a letter when they hear a sound. I have found some things that they like, and found that when I just let them play a little more, things in the lessons often go quicker! Go figure!!

One of my kids who had been a major discipline problem is doing so much better!! Praise the Lord!! He really is a sweet little guy and just gets over excited about thing and wants to hit alot, but he is really doing well now!! I know this is also the Lord granting me patience to get through to him, before I lose my cool!

Pray for me and my kids as we seem to be the sickies in the school. I have been sick at least once a month since September it seems, sometimes twice, and almost always have someone in my class staying inside for recess because they are sick! The germs abound and we have regular group hand sanitizer sessions! But, on the upside, no one got the chicken pox.

Here comes the carnival! Friday is the annual school carnival and I might be doing face painting! How did that happen? I don't know how that will work, but I will let you know

Spring Break is coming up in March and I am heading to Kansas and St. Louis with the Blooms. Hurray!

Hope every one is doing well and enjoyed this little update. See you later!

Here I am, back again with my kids! Sounds like everyone had a great break, and they are getting back into the swing of things. I was a little worried that thy would have forgotten everything! But they seem to remember most things and some are even doing better in some areas!
Our classroom is rearranged and seems to work for the kids, so far at least. We have a group here from Cedarville University, and they are going to do Bible Club for the kids all week. They have been spending lots of time with the kids and are doing a great job. This afternoon they did a puppet show and songs and games.

This weeks memory verse is Romans 3:23, and I had my kids write it out. They did great. Some are still working at where on the page to put the letters and some you can barely read, but you can tell that they get the general idea. I do have one little guy that I can only get to trace things, so please pray that I might be able to figure out away to help him.

Hope everyone had a great holiday and have a Happy New Year.
Mel

Daily Bible Verse

Merry Christmas from the Mission!!!

As Thanksgiving came rushing at me, I found so many things to be thankful for! The time has truly flown by and it is hard to believe the school year is almost half over. In the past five months, I have seen so much of the Lord: His comfort and kindness, His generosity and provision in every need, His love for every person. As dry as the land may be here, the Lord will not leave His people thirsty for His love!
As the school days have passed, I have seen the kids in my class begin to grasp the things I have tried to teach them. They are beginning to understand what letters make what sounds, which numbers are which, and what that thing with four corners is. They are beginning to enjoy each other and understand how they can interact with one another. They are starting to love reading! Although this is my first year and I know that perhaps we have not gotten as far along as the average Kindergarten class, the Lord is showing me how to teach them and letting me know in little ways that they are learning! That is so exciting to me. They are also beginning to understand about the Lord. Some still answer "Jesus" when I ask who was lead through the Red Sea, but they are beginning to understand some things about the gospel. One of my students, Shane told me the other day " Jesus died for us, huh teacher?" I see the most understanding in students like Shane, whose parents are believers, so I am reminded that I am not the only one the Lord is using to bring these kids to know Him. I am only a small part in His plan.
Please pray that most of all I will be able to show them His love and tell them of Him on a level that they can understand. I am learning what a huge responsibility it is to teach children. I can only pray the Lord gives me the strength and wisdom to do it well. I am very slowly getting to know some of the people in the area, especially the believers, but have had contact with non believers also. Some come to use the phone and sell their hand goods, and I can get to know them better. I had my first family to dinner the other day. They came to use the phone and I was making dinner so I invited them to stay. This family is rather special to me. One of the boys was originally in my class, but Sam was really not ready for Kindergarten. We knew at the beginning he might be too young, and had to decide if maybe he should wait. What a big one for someone so new! I was fearful that they would resent me and that the relationship might be damaged as I had been able to spend time with his mother, Annie. I hope I made the decision that best benefits all concerned. And it seems they have not hardened toward me, so I am hopeful that I will still get to minister to this family. As we approach the holidays, many of the staff are truly looking forward to the break. The staff has been stretched thin this year, with few teachers and bus drivers, and no maintenance man; they are feeling the strain. Everyone has been doing an excellent job, taking different or additional classes, but most would dearly love having more teachers come. Please pray that the Lord will send more workers in His time. We have heard from many for next year and are looking forward to seeing how the Lord will provide. One thing I am learning slowly is what the Lord requires of me. The Lord has graciously supplied my needs, both financially, emotionally, spiritually, and my needs as a teacher, showing me what to do. But I have to give much more than I realized. I was aware of the physical things I would need to give up to come here, the family and friends that I wouldn't see. I was not aware of how much of myself I would need to give and how much I needed to grow in my dependence on Him. It was an easy thing to say I believe, that I know He supplies every need and that I will rely on Him and serve Him with my whole heart. I am learning how much it takes to actually put this into practice. I am learning that He wants all of me, and how hard that is to give. But as the Lord shows me, I am reminded of how faithful He is! He never lets me down. He is truly a good God, who has sent all of the workers out here because He loves these people, because He sent His Son for their sakes as much as for ours! Please continue to pray that we would be a light here, so that they might see that love for themselves and truly believe on Him. In the school, many will say they believe, but not live it. Please pray that we might be able to disciple the people here, that they might grow to know Him as their Lord, as well as their Savior. I thank all of you for your continued prayers and support! I am looking forward to spending a few days with my family in Michigan for the holidays. I hope that you also will enjoy the Christmas season and that you will remember with joy and thanksgiving the gift that God gave by sending His only begotten Son to be our Lord and Savior. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!



In His Name,

Mel

What am I?

You Are An ISFJ

The Nurturer You have a strong need to belong, and you very loyal.A good listener, you excell at helping others in practical ways.In your spare time, you enjoy engaging your senses through art, cooking, and music.You find it easy to be devoted to one person, who you do special things for. You would make a good interior designer, chef, or child psychologist.

What's" Your Personality Type?

So these are the results for the Blogspot personality test that I took. So what do you think? Did they get me or are they way off?

Code Talkers!!!

So any of you know about the Navajo Code Talkers in World War II? Being that veterans day is tommorrow, we invited the community to come and celebrate with the students and faculty, especially those in the community who have served in the armed forces. We had lots of people come and at least four veterans, one who is the father of my student, Shane. The elementary grades gave a small program; Kindergaten and 1st grade sang "I'm in the Lord's Army" and then the veterans shared where and when they had served. One of the Navajo gentleman who came and had served was David Jordan, who served in the Marines, stationed in the Pacific, and worked as a code talker. For those of you who may not be familiar with what that is, here goes.
During World War II, the military used Navajo speaking men to talk in code. They spoke in their native language, which is difficult enough to translate, and then coded what they said. The double layered code was never broken, and went a long way toward insuring the eventual victory of the allied forces. Mr. Jordan was one of those code talkers. When he left the service, he was a corporal. Mr. Jordan now attends the Immanuel Navajo Chapel here on the Mission. It was really neat to think I actually know one of these amazing men who did so much for our country. In a community where most people stay near their families for their entire live , it must have been a great sacrifice to go so far away into such a dangerous situation. My dad also served, in Vietnam; he was a clerk for the Special Services, and served for two years. He and my mom had to postpone their wedding, while he went halfway across the world. And there are more veterans in my family who have made sacrifices for their country.. I am sure there are veterans in yours.
Tommorrow, when our country celebrates its heros, don't forget to thank your loved ones who have served and fought for your freedom. You have that freedom because of sacrifices that they made!

Thanks to all you veterans!!!!

Instant Replay

I was looking for a title for this post; I always want some catchy phrase to go with each one.
I called it Instant Replay for two reasons. It is something that seems to replay in my life over and over, and because it involves one of those rare prayers that God seems to often answer instantly in my life, or at least very quickly. I know He always answers, but this one He often gives grace with and answers right away!
Sometimes in this new adventure out here in the west I get scared. For a while, it was being out in the wilderness and thinking someone might break in and "get" me. And because I stewed over it, I found myself dealing with it over and over. But once I got a clue, recognized it as Satan trying to stop me from being effective and from focusing on the Lord, I was able to give it to the Lord, and He just took it away. Now, I can't say that means I will never deal with it again, but for now, I am able to trust. However, Satan is a subtle enemy. So he trys again in different ways to get me where I am vulnerable.
And so I found myself today, again afraid that I could not do the job. What will I do tommorrow, I don't know the next step! I have no time and I am not ready! Now this is partly true, I did not get much done this weekend as far as lesson plans go, and I spent too much time on the internet :) At first, I panic! but this is not the appropriate response. I have not figured it all out yet, even though I should have with as many times as He provides but I have learned somewhat, and now I take it to the Lord. Almost instantly He gives me peace and instead of fearing, I work to figure out what He would have me do. And as I have often found, the plan is already there, this time literally, as I had wrote out a bit of it during a spare moment last week!! How funny that Satan tries to intimated me about something already prepared!! But the truth is that God has ALL of it already prepared. Why worry about it at all!! If I remember who is really in control, I will have the peace and assurance I need right at my fingertips, like an instant replay of all the times He has provided for my needs!