Let God Move

What's one of the greatest things about teaching at a Christian School? Having it be okay to take an hour on a devotional that you thought would only take 5-10 minutes. Okay, so this is the first time it has happened all year so don't think that these kids aren't learning anything...well, actually today they did learn something more important than English, more important than Math, and more important than History....today they learned how much God loves them!!

It was English class, the start of the day when I usually have a devotional prepared for them.  Today, I didn't so I asked Lara, one of the the ELL support teachers for my class & my prayer partner, to do a short devotional about what she told me the other day of how God has been faithful to her this year.

After she gave the devotional a student raised their hand and asked, "Could you tell us how and when you became a Christian? Miss Mitchell told us her story yesterday."  So, Lara gave a 5 minute quick testimony to the kids. Then I thought it'd be great to share with them part of what God spoke to me the other day. It wasn't just for me but for them and for YOU too.

I encourage you to read it slowly...God wants to speak to your heart also. Here it is:

I love you so much that it hurts. That it hurt my hands, it hurt my feet, I was thirsty and hungry. They placed a crown on my head with thorns that dug into my scalp. I could feel my own blood dripping down my face. 

They mocked me. They told me to save myself if I'm really the Messiah.  I was tempted. You know I could've. By just one word, I could've come down. But then I remembered how much I love YOU. I remembered how much I wanted to be in a relationship with you again. And then, I took my last breath and died. I died for YOU. The gun was aimed at YOU, the trigger was pulled, but I stepped in front and took the bullet. I died for YOU. But then I rose again. By the power of God I came back alive for YOU. 

I'm here. I'm by your side. I can hear you. Your joys, your pains, your tears, your fears, and your laughter. I know your thoughts and I want to tell you and remind you how much I love you. Do not worry about anything. I'm here. And I am coming for YOU again! I am coming! When I come I will bring you home. To a place with no more sadness and tears but only joy and laughter. Where we will enjoy each others presence forever.

Then, I had them place their heads on their desks and take time to talk with God and be open to listen to what He had to tell them.  I was then prompted by the Holy Spirit to tell them individually, by name, how much God loves them and desires to be in relationship with them.  That was the quietest, stillest, most behaved I have seen them all year.

Lara went and got the guitar and started playing and we sang the song "How He Loves" while the kids were praying with their heads on their desk.  It turned into  "Oh How He loves us..." to "Oh How He loves you...." ending with "Jesus tells you 'Oh how I love you..'"

Then we prayed again and said amen.  As the kids heads popped up from their desks you could see puffy eyes glossed over and kids wiping tears away. I realized we only had 10 minutes of class left so we took time to debreif on what just happened, what they learned, and what they felt. 

I'd like to share a few of their responses:

"I felt a hand on my shoulder."
"I feel lighter."
"I feel different."
"I learned how much God loves me."
"I felt someone hugging me."
"I saw God."
"I feel like I have a new body."
"Instead of connecting with the cable of my head, I connected with the cable of my heart."
"I learned how much I am forgiven. I saw that all my sin is gone."

Praise. God.

What a beautiful way to end the semester. I pray that God would use what happened today as a beginning to a beautiful heart change process. It's been a rough first semester with these students but God has given me and shown me how much He loves each and every one of them and how I need to continue to "Walk in Love" and share with them the love that He has given all of us for free through His Son, Jesus!

Little by little, one moment, one day at a time, God is at work and doing great things in these 5th grade students' lives. Continue to pray along with me that these students would grow a huge love for their Savior, not to earn anything from Him, but because of the free gift of grace He has given us, and that they would want to live and do everything for Him and His glory.

Dame Fuerza (Give Me Strength!)

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Today I had the opportunity to run a 14k race (8.7 miles) in the mountains of Bogotá that had a 1,200 meter (3,937 ft.) climb & 45 degree max inclination.

Here is the 14K route in the mountains! 

After the Nike We Run Bogotá 10K in November, I told myself no more races until the spring. However, this one popped up and said it was free! A free race of 14k in the Andes Mountains in Colombia?! I could not pass up on this opportunity! God taught me a lot through this race today and I'm excited to share it with you!

I'm going to start back on my birthday in Apulo (a town we went to in hot country). You know how my last blog post was how God gave me a song? Well, on my birthay God gave me another song...I take it as his birthday gift to me! It's still in the works but I have some of the lyrics and melody down.

Here are the lyrics:
 Eres mi Paz, Eres mi Dios. Me sostienes con Tu mano derecha.
You are my Peace, You are my God, You hold me with your right hand.

Cuando hay una montaña en frente de mi, me darás fuerza a escalarla.
When there is a mountain in front of me, you will give me strength to climb it.

Cuando hay obstáculos durante la carrera, voy a persevear en Tu ayuda.
When there are obstacles during the race, I'm going to persevere with Your help. 

Dame fuerza, dame confianza, dame amor, dame a Cristo
Give me strength, give me confidence, give me love, Give me Jesus.

I'm pretty sure these are the mountains we ran up.
I totally stood on that peak today!

After that, I was told about this free race! Which is totally another gift that God gave me. I didn't put the two together until the race today.  I started singing this song the first part of the race and realized how well it fit together!!! Oooh why is He so good to me?!??! I realized just how much He loves me AND the same goes for you too! You just need to recognize that they really are gifts from God because He loves you SO much! SO much that he sent His Son to die for us to bring us back into relationship with Him.

This is the church in the park where the race started.
You can see the mountains in the background that
we ran up!

Another thing he taught me was that I can't do anything on my own.  The Colombians were SO great to me! Also, it's just part of the race atmosphere. Everyone is going through the exact same thing at the same time so why not encourage others?? There were a couple men who took my hand and literally pulled me up some of the hardest parts. Also there was a woman who offered me some of her juice.  It was SO great!! While this was happening I was thinking, "Maaaaaan this is dumb. I can't even climb it myself." But then it hit me...no this isn't dumb..what a BEAUTIFUL picture this is of what God does for us each and every day! I remembered the phrase in the song: "Me sostienes con tu mano derecha (You uphold me with your right hand)" The guy was holding me and pulling me up with his right hand. HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!

Isaiah 41:10 

Then we FINALLY made it to the top and it was gorgeous! I wish I had my camera because the whole race had such a beautiful view. We climbed rocks, ran through forests, ran down this creek type jungle path, climbed more mountains, and saw Bogotá and other towns on the other side of the mountains. (granted I was looking down at my feet most of the time trying not to trip over rocks) As we came down I was excited for how easy it would be. But, of course I was wrong. It was JUST AS STEEP as going up (imagine that). It was very rocky and we had to be so careful because one slip and you could fall off the side. (Don't worry mom...God was holding me. :)  As we made our way down I had a calf cramp and then had camps in my feet. Such an odd and uncomfortable feeling while trying to run.  However I "pesevear(ed) en su ayuda...I persevered with His Help)  I finally made it to the finish in 2 hours and 57 minutes! My goal was under 3 hours. Also, for running on flat surfices my whole life and even down here...I was happy. Thank you, Jesus!

Applying "crema caliente" or Icy Hot for my
cramping muscles after the race! 

Wow, what an amazing experience God blessed me with full of running, mountains, and teaching me more about His Love and Who He Is.  Hallelujah!

My friend Machi & I after the race!
We're alive!!!! 

Now, we have 4 full days and 3 half days of school left for the semester. It's going to be busy and hard trying to bring it to a close and getting grades done and such so please pray for me for that!

I come home December 21 for Christmas break and will return to Bogotá January 1.  I couldn't be more excited to see my dearly loved friends and family!!! Hopefully there will be an opportunity to see a majority of you!

I hope and pray that God continues to bless you and that your eyes would be open to His blessings and gifts He gives you so that you can thank Him and realize the CRAZY AWESOME LOVE He has for YOU!  Also, that you would remember during difficult times when you feel like you can't go anymore, you can't climb up the mountain, something gives you a cramp, or you feel like it'll be easy but all the rocks and steepness gets in the way and slows you down, He is upholding you with His Righteous Right Hand!

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Sing to Him a New Song

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in Him. Psalm 40:3

If you know me well, you know that I LOVE playing music. I love to play the piano, alto saxophone, djembe, violin, harmonica, and especially my mandolin (Amanda Lynn).   Any instrument I can get my hands on I'd love to learn it! Going into a music store for me is like placing a kid in the middle of a candy store! However, the one thing that I'm not too fond of...at least in front of people...is singing. Ever since my 6th grade solo in the Christmas program at my church and a friend making fun of my singing, I've always been super self-concsious about my voice. However, I have come to accept that I am only singing to an Audience of One...Who is the One that gave me this voice in the first place! :)

Here she is: beautiful Miss Amanda Lynn

But even with that I love making new songs to the glory of my Savior. Since being here I've gotten closer with my mandolin.  :)  I play her for staff worship sometimes at school, take her to ministry sites to play, and love coming home after a rough day at school to play my mandolin and sing songs to Jesus.

There are various verses found in the Bible, especially in Psalms, where it talks about singing to the Lord a new song.  I was with my prayer partner and fellow teacher at school, Miss Lara Spaw,  one day and as we were praying I found myself praying for God to give each of us a new song. (she loves singing and playing the guitar)

A few days later I found myself singing a song in Spanish to God.  The coolest part about this and how I KNOW it's from the Lord is that I started singing these words:

"Es por ti que vivo
Es por ti que estoy aquí
Es por ti que entrego todo..." Wait...what...entrego? What does entrego even mean? So I looked up up and it means "give up...or surrender...or give" Sure enough it fits!

I quickly got my mandolin to match the chords to my voice and before I knew it I had a "chorus" to my new praise song written in Spanish.

The verse that had been on my heart lately had been, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you." Psalm 73:25

I decided to look it up in Spanish and the first part says, "A quién tengo en el cielo sino a Ti?" and so I put that to music next as a verse and then decided to do more of a literal translation for the second part, "No hay nada en la tierra que desee más que a Ti" 

I added that to the song and then I had a chorus and a verse! I wanted to show it to my friend Hector (who's the music teacher at school & also helps out with a ministry with Nathan Ironside who's from Hillsong Church) to get his critique and how I could make it better and such and after he heard it he asked, "Hey would you like to record it sometime? We could record it at my house or here at school but probably not until November."  My response was...um seriously?? OKAY! He suggested I add a bridge to the song before then and so throughout the next month I was praying for words for a bridge in this song and then this is what the bridge turned out to be:

Sin Ti no soy nada      
Solo un alma muerta
Contigo tengo vida
Cúbreme con Tu amor

Recording the song!

Last Sunday I went to his place to record the song and I played the mandolin, vocals, and djembe drum while Hector played the shakers and the piano part.  I'm so excited and feel so blessed that God answered my prayers by not only giving me a song but He went BEYOND my request and gave me one in Spanish! (Oh how I long for the day where I can be fluent in Spanish...when you think of it please pray for my Spanish and learning it...I long to be able to speak to not only Colombians about Jesus but the rest of the Latino world as well.)

And here I go back to this verse I had at the beginning: He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in Him. Psalm 40:3

My prayer for songs that God gives me is that He would use them for HIS GLORY and that many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in Him through hearing these songs. Please join with me in praying these things.


I would like to end this post with you by sharing the song He has given me. It's definitely homemade but we had a lot of fun making it!

Click here to listen: 
Es Por Ti by Allie & Amanda Lynn

 Es por Ti  lyrics and translation:

Es por Ti que vivo
It's for You I live
Es por Ti que estoy aquí
It's for You I'm here
Es por Ti que entrego todo
It's for you I give all
Todo para Ti!
All for You!

A quién tengo en el cielo sino a Ti
Whom have I in heaven but You?
No hay nada en la tierra que desee más que a Ti
There's nothing on erath I desire more than You
Cristo es la Luz y mi Salvación
Jesus is my Light and my Salvation
A Él sea la gloria por siempre!
To Him be the glory forever!

Es por Ti que vivo
It's for You I live
Es por Ti que estoy aquí
It's for You I'm here
Es por Ti que entrego todo
It's for you I give all
Todo para Ti!
All for You!

 Sin Ti no soy nada
Without You I am nothing
Solo un alma muerta
Only a dead spirit
Contigo tengo vida
With You I have life
Cúbreme con Tu amor
Cover me with Your love

Es por Ti que vivo
It's for You I live
Es por Ti que estoy aquí
It's for You I'm here
Es por Ti que entrego todo
It's for you I give all
Todo para Ti!
All for You!

p.s. Also, be sure to check out Hector's ministry here!:
English: http://www.thestirring.com/
Spanish: http://www.thestirring.com/esp/

!st Quarter Blessings!

Well, the first quarter is over with and report cards have been sent out! Right now we're on our break.  Colombia requires a week off of school and so this so happens to be the week. The past three days have been professional development for the teachers at school and now I have today, tomorrow, and Monday off. I'm ready for this time to step back and take a breath and refresh.

So much has happend so I'll try to keep it to a limit.  I'll just breifly explain everything that has happend and then go into more detail below.

Blessings from first quarter:

• Teaching of course! The 5th and 6th graders are a really fun group to work with! 
• Going to Tierra Fertil with the 5th graders and seeing them share their heart and love for Jesus by playing with the toddlers there. 
• Spirit week! 
• Amor y Amistad fiesta with the 5th graders families
• The Orphanage
• Finding a church with a great Young Adults group. 
• Going to a Colombian sleepover.
• Being asked to play on my first fútbol team! (The church I go to has a intramural soccer league every year in the fall)
• Being in a Spanish Christian Rock music video!

Tierra Fertil 
Each class is connected with a ministry site in Bogotá.  The fifth grade's is called Tierra Fertil.  This is a Christian after school program for kids who's parents work on the streets.  During the day it's more of a daycare so my students were working with 4 years old and under.  I was so proud of them! It made my heart happy to see them take leadership in leading games, crafts, music, & skits for these kids. It was so awesome seeing them gently care for these little kids. The love of Christ was definitely shining through them.


Here's a video of us playing musical chairs:

Spirit Week
Every year there's a Spirit week that the student council puts on.  The first day was superhero day.  My students were SUPER that day. This picture definitely shows their personalities. :) 

Miss Mitchell's class of superheroes!

Amor y Amistad
In Colombia, there's a whole month dedicated to love and friendship! It's the month of September.  The 5th grade parents put on a fun party with "secret friends" gifts.  It was time for prayer and fellowship. After the prayer (this was ALL in Spanish by the way) the parents asked me if I had anything I wanted to say to them and if I needed translation.  With I smile and confidence I said yes & no translation. :D So I tried my hardest talking to them about their kids and how much love I have for them all in Spanish. It took a while but I got the message acrossed! Afterwards some parents came up to me and said, "hablas bien!" (You speak well!) This was a very encouragement night for me and my Spanish.  I feel like I'm actually improving on my Spanish! :D

Special Needs Orphanage

Hanging out with some of the kids

One of the high school's ministry sites is a special needs oraphanage and I had the opportunity to go.  For some reason it's always been hard for me serve people with special needs (I know that sounds AWFUL...but it has been) I was a little apprehensive in going wondering how am I able to show love to these people who sometimes aren't even cognatively there? I prayed that God would change my heart and view them the way He does.  I was in the room of the adults who were all sitting in their chairs looking so helpless.  The type where all they can do is move their head and moan.  It smelled really bad too.  I sat down in front of three of them and started talking and holding their hands.  Then I took out my mandolin.  I started playing some chords and one of them started moving their head to the beat.  Then, I started playing the song "How He Loves" and in the middle of it I looked up and all three of them had giant smiles on their faces and were moving their hands as if they were dancing. I started bawling...I could hardly sing. It was one of the most beautiful sites I had ever seen! It was so cool seeing that the music that is worshiping and bringing Glory to the God Almighty brought joy into their lives. Praise the Lord!

Karaoke!

Grupo de los Jóvenes! 
I found a church that I'm able to call home. :) It has been one of the BIGGEST blessings in Bogotá! The age range is from like 16-25ish.  I can say I already have some Colombian Friends! We meet Saturday afternoons and then have Sunday School on Sundays before church. It's FANTASTIC.

Pijimada! (Colombian Sleepover)

From the Jóvenes group a group of girls invited my roommate Megan and I over for a sleepover! It was FABULOUS and SO MUCH FUN.  It consisted of puppy chow (from the gringas..aka us americans), karaoke, dancing, ajiaco (a Colombian soup dish) and lots of laughter! 

Bailamos!

Nuestras Amigas Colombianas!

I love playing soccer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My beautiful team: BRASIL!!!!!

I never thought those words would come out of my mouth but es la verdad! (it's the truth!) I guess that's what I get for moving to a South American country where soccer is the biggest sport around. Stephanie Montoya, one of the girls form the church, asked me to go to one of their soccer practices so I figured why not. I've got nothing to lose!  I ended up LOVING it! To me, it's like basketball only without using your hands and you only use your feet!  At the end of practiced they asked me what I was doing Sunday nights and asked if I wanted to be on their team! I immediately responded yes!!!!!!!!! So for the past month my weekends have been consumed of soccer, church, hanging out with Colombians, and more soccer! On Sundays after church I usually go over to the Montoya's house. They feed me and show WONDERFUL hospitality and then we hang out, trying to communicate with my broken Spanish until it's time for the game.  Thankfully the youngest sister Mayra knows English so when I get stuck she helps me out. What a blessing that family has been to me! Also, our teams name is Brazil and so before the games we pray for missionaries in Brazil and the government and such. In my second game of fútbol I scored a goal with my head! It was epic. So far we are 1-2.  We need to win our next game in order to make it to the championship game!

Not so flattering picture of myself.. :)

Colombian Christian Rock Music Video! .....what?!?!?

Everyone that was involved with the video

The most recent thing that has happend was last weekend I was in a music video! Haha.  My friend Jonathan Montoya (Stephanie's brother) who also goes to Jóvenes is a photographer and videographer.  The worship band at church is a Christian rock band outside of church. They recorded a music video before for the song called "Que tu luz" click here to check it out! So, they decided to make another one. It's called "Resistencia" translated as Resistance. The song is based on Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."  It's about resisting things of this world.


Again, this first quarter has been filled with many blessings AND I've been able to practice my Spanish A LOT by being immursed in Spanish every weekend. 

You can check out my prayer requests by clicking here.

One last thing I love about being here is the Spanish music! I've heard & sang "The Wonderful Cross" so many times but when you sing it in a different language it gives a different perspective on it and brings new light to it. So here's the song I've been listening to a lot lately called "Glorisa Cruz":

Guíame a La Cruz

Did I really go to bed at 8:45 p.m. on a Friday night? Yep.  Must be a teacher. :)


It's 3 weeks into the 2012-2013 school year already! Classes are up and running and now in full motion.  Everyday I'm teaching 2 hours of 5th grade language arts (spelling/wrtiting/reading) and then 1 hour of 5th grade social studies and another hour of 6th grade social studies.

My 5th Grade Class

This is how they really are... :)

You're probably wondering what do I even teach in Social Studies to students in Colombia? That's a good question. Well, in 5th grade I just taught them about The Great Exhibition that was held in Great Britain in 1851, The Sepoy Mutiny where the British forced native Indians to be part of the East India Company's army, following with Indians rebelling.  Lately, we've been talking about how Japan was a closed country in the 1850's and re-opened to the world, and then now we are on The Crimean War.  When I saw I was going to be teaching over these topics plus more I was overwhelmed.  I don't think I ever learned about these things growing up...or at least if I did, it DEFINITELY did not stick in my memory.  However, it's been fun & interesting learning this material!  I'm starting to find an interest in History all the sudden. :)   Last year I think I even told some of my "Social Science Education Major" friends that I don't think I could EVER teach Social Studies/History because it's soooooo boring.  Ha. But here I am teaching history and it's not boring at all!! God's got a sense of humor. :)

At school every week we have some "traditions" if you will.  For teachers, we each have a prayer partner throughout the year that we meet with at least once a week.  On Tuesdays we have a devotional before school. Wednesday we have a short time of worship where we come together and sing 3 songs as a staff.  (Where I've been able to play my mandolin!) Two English & one Spanglish usually.  We have Spanish teachers at school that speak little English so we get to sing in two languages! Hence, the title of this post.  Last week we sang "Lead Me to the Cross" in Spanglish and it's so awesome singing to the Lord in two languages in one song! We started with the English, "Savior I come...quiet my soul...remember..." and then at the chorus we switched to Spanish singing, "Guiame a la cruz....lléname de Amor..." Love. It.

Thursdays are a morning that usually is a time of meetings if something needs to be addressed.



And then there's FRIDAYS!! Every Friday we have hot chocolate & bread and use the time in the morning for a Teacher Meeting as a Staff.  The kids usually come at 7:30 M-Th but on Fridays they arrive at 8:15.

For the students, Middle school has chapel on Wednesday mornings where 8th graders lead music and then we either have someone talk or have a small group.  I'm leading the 5th grade girls small group so if you could pray for that it would be greatly appreciated!

Then Fridays are Mission Spot where the middle schoolers hear about Missions and then have SSR (Silent Sustained Reading) until 2nd period.

I'm still really encouraged by what God is doing at El Camino Academy and am excited that I'm able to be part of His Work He is doing here!

Apart from school I've been able to do some pretty sweet things.  We went to Calera...a place over the mountain outside the city.  It was fun to get away from the city, hike, and eat some delicious Colombian food!

Arepas con queso & Quatro! (Colomaian Specialties!)

Calera

Lauren, Megan, me, Kelli! (Roomies!!)

Then we went to Prado. A town down in "hot country" where there's a lake.  I swam a LOT, which was AWESOME. I also was able to wakeboard! It was a great time to spend with some other teachers and relax where it's sunny and warm.  As opposed to Bogotá...cool and wet.  (But I'm not complaining!)

On our way to the Island!

The place we stayed on the Island in Prado.
The white building at the top is the church we went to.

At church in Prado

Even though it's been great, school can still get stressful at times and it can be frustrating trying to learn about a new culture while trying to figure out this teaching thaaang.  I especially get frustrated with language.  I want to be fluent in Spanish so bad but it takes so much time! Especially since I'm teaching in English everyday.  The nice thing is that they give teachers free Spanish classes after school every M,W, F.  Also, I've been able to work on my Spanish from just trying to converse with the Spanish teachers at school.  I even sat down and had lunch with one of them which was chévere. :)  I feel like I'm understanding more but my vocabulary is so small that it's hard to get across what I want to say sometimes because of the lack of words that I know.

I went to church with my roommate a couple Sunday's ago and I could actually understand the sermon! It was about how we should set our mind on things above and not on this earth.  They also have a young adults group (totally in Spanish again) I've been able to meet some Colombians and get to know them a little.  I'm excited to start getting to know some natives not only because I enjoy meeting new people and brothers/sisters in Christ but I can also work on my Spanish that way as well!!

I really can't complain that much.  God has blessed me beyond what I deserve with meeting some pretty awesome people where we can support and encourage one another in our faith in Jesus & really...what's more important than that?? Gloria a Dios! 

I pre-ordered the new Tenth Avenue North cd in early July back in the States on itunes and it came out last Monday! So, I've been listening to it quite a bit.

Here's a little taste of it for you to enjoy and be encouraged, dear friends:

Colombia es Chévere!

One of the first new Spanish words I learned upon my arrival was "chévere" which means "cool" or "sweet" so they use it a lot here. :)

I've already been in Bogotá for 2 weeks and so much has happend! So far I've had new teacher orientation and then this past week has been just teacher orientation.  Understanding the curriculum, how the school works, preparing for my classroom, etc.  However, I'd like to key you in on some of the adventures that have happend these past two weeks:

My first ride on the public bus by myself
The second full day that I was here we went to school and there was some miscommunication that I needed to bring lunch.  I figured I could just take a public bus back to my apartment.  I asked if it was safe to do that and they said yeah just be careful because I guess bad things can happen on the bus such as people robbing you and threatening you and stuff....  Anyway, I was up for the adventure. got $1,400 ready ($1,750 Colombian pesos = $1), and was on my way! I got on a bus, went until centro comercial santafé (the giant mall along the autopista a.k.a. highway, walked over the bridge and made it back to my apartment safe and sound! :D Thank you, Jesus.


Nico!
My friend Brittney back in the states knows a guy, Nicolás, from Colombia that used to live in Bogotá.  He had to come to Bogotá for a few days for school the first week I was here so I got his contact information and we met up at Santafé, the mall, and got some coffee at Juan Valdez Café. He was welcoming and friendly. It was great actually talking with a Colombian and someone who has lived in Bogotá to give me tips on how to live here.  He has been super helpful and I'm so thankful for him!


El Jungle
The first Saturday that I was here a bunch of us teachers went to The Jungle which is a ministry that the school is connected with.  It is located in the part of town where there is tolerated prostitution and these kids are caught up in it. The Jungle is a place of refuge for kids to go and be kids, play around, and be loved in a healthy way.  There's also time set apart for singing songs and hearing a Bible story.  We sang "Abre mis ojos O Cristo" (open the eyes of my heart) AND "ERES TODOPODEROSO!" This song isn't an english tranlsated song BUT we sang it all the time while I was in Nicaragua and so I knew all the words and was able to sing along with the kids.  It was awesome. :) I'm so encouraged at what God is doing through this ministry and how He is touching and changing the lives of these precious kids.

Here's a link to read more about the ministry: El Jungle


Running path! 
This is a small blessing...but a blessing nonetheless! There's a bike/running path right behind my apartment complex and it's safe enough for me to run it by myself in the daylight.  I've been able to run almost everyday (whenever I have the free time) but only before 6:30 because everynight it starts getting dark at that time unforutnately.  There's quite a few people who enjoy running on staff this year so we've gone out a few times together which is ALWAYS a blessing to be able to run with other people. The mountains are to the east of the path and it's a beautiful view.


RAIN
It rains almost every day here.  I've learned that you should always take an umbrella with you wherever you go.  The sun might be shining when you go outside but 10 minutes later it could be raining hard.


la fruta
There are SO many different types of fruits here.  I think I heard someone say at least 200 kinds.  I've been blending a lot of juices with it. :D

Jugo de Curuba!  There's no english word for it
but I guess it's a kind of passion fruit...maybe?

Almuerzo (lunch)
Here's a picture at what a typical lunch looks like that I'll be getting at school everyday:

Soup, rice, potatoes, meat, vegetables, fruit, juice, & dessert

Iglesia (church)
I went to a Spanish Speaking church on Sunday with my roommates Megan & Kelli.  It was all in Spanish.  I really need to brush up on my Spanish.  I've been able to sort of communicate with people. I know it'll take time though.  My favorite part was singing praise in Spanish.  It was also a bunch of songs I knew from in English like "Our God" & "You Never Let Go"  but of course all in Spanish.


Sickness
Last Saturday my throat was feeling scratchy, then on Sunday I felt awful at church, Monday I was back at school with everyone (including returning teachers) and I still felt pretty rotten.  I took some meds, people prayed for me, & then Nyquil at night and got 9 hours of sleep every night this week and throughout the week I got progressively better.  However, now other people are starting to get sick so PLEASE pray for them that they would be ready before the students come on Tuesday!


Cédula y turista (ID & tourist)
Everyone is required to have a Colombian I.D. so we had to go downtown yesterday to get "Cédulas" (ID's)  it was  a little less than smooth but thankfully we all were able to get it! Then the Spanish teachers took us to a popular park and then a district called Usaquén where there's a mall and market.

The girls just chillin' after we got our cédulas

They had this giant screen set up in the park with bean
bags for people to sit on so that they can watch
The Olympics! Chévere. :) 

Like I said...so much has happend! Amongst ALL these wonderful adventures this weekend I NEEEEEED to tackle the curriculum and understand what I'm teaching and put a plan into action. I'm super overwhelmed with this. I know it'll get done somehow but PLEASE pray for focus and diligence. I think I can get it done in one day if I focus on it ALL day and ALL night.

My plan for Sunday is to go to church and then Bogotá Gospel which is a Christian concert in a big park in Bogotá.  That will last all afternoon until the night though.  I would really love to go to this but I guess we'll just see how much I get done on Saturday.  

Doesn't this look chévere?!?!

This is what next week looks like (8/6-8/10) so that you can be praying for me, my fellow teachers, and my students:


Monday: last day of teacher orientation
Tuesday: Half day with kids getting to know them, talking to the parents, and having a BBQ
Wednesday: Half day of classes
Thursday: First full day
Friday: Full day again


p.s. Be sure to stop by my photos page to see more photos that I've taken while in Colombia! 


Dios Los Bendiga! (God bless you!) 

Almost There!

Right now I'm sitting in the Atlanta International Airport eating lunch and what an adventure it already has been today!! My flight left Omaha at 6:30 a.m. Central Time and I arrived in Atlanta around 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.  I'M SO PUMPED!

After arriving in Atlanta I thought to myself "huh...I have a 7 hour layover here...what am I possibly going to do for 7 hours?!?!" Then I realized OH! Maybe there's a church nearby that has a service at 10 a.m. or 11 a.m.  I got online really quick and searched for a church. After I browsed through a few one popped up called "Grace Midtown Church" (http://midtown.gfc.tv/) I looked at the website and glanced over what they believed...saw that there was a service at 10 a.m. Wrote down the address, packed up my bags and I was off!  While I was going to ground transportation the whole time I was thinking, "what the heck am I doing?! I don't know my way around Atlanta. I hardly know anything about this church...does it even really exist? What if they typed the time wrong on the website?? What if it was different this week?" So many questions went through my head but I was like "Shoot...I'm on my way to South America...I've got 7 hours to kill...might as well do something cray cray...let's go to CHURCH!" I got in a cab, told him the address, got to church maybe like 30 mins late. Walked in and was stoked! There's just something about being surrounded by the family of Christ and worshipping Him together. I sat in the back because that was the only seat open.

The sermon was great, or at least what I heard of it, talking about Christ and taking up our cross and following him.  :)  At the end I talked to a couple people and one of them mentioned that the train that could take me back to the airport was within walking distance and only cost about $3.50.  After a sweaty walk in the sun wearing jeans, a tshirt, and cardigan (because I'm gearing up for 60 degree weather year round!) and my backpack on my back and mandolin in my hand I was at the train station and then made it back to the airport and now here I am waiting my flight to Bogotá!

I must add though what I was most encouraged by with this Atlanta mini-adventure and probably what God wanted me at this church for happend at the end of the service:  we had communion while singing a song with the lyrics,

Where you go I'll go
What you say I'll say God
What you pray I'll pray
What you pray I'll pray

So with the mixture of singing those words and taking part in The Lord's Supper, a powerful reminder hit me:  It is because of our Savior's Body and Blood that hung on a cross and was shed for all that I am able to go where He goes, say what He says, and pray what He prays.  

I totally take this expereience as the Lord's personal commission he had divinely set up for me. Ooooh why is He so good to me?? I am so unworthy and yet He chooses to use me and lead me to Colombia to do His Will of preaching the Gospel to the nations. What a blessed trip this has already been and it's only the beginning!!! I don't know what else to say other then, "Here am I, Lord...SEND ME!!"

Eight months down...ONE TO GO!!

One month from today and I will be boarding a plane to Colombia!

I seriously cannot believe that I've already known about being officially accepted to teach at El Camino Academy for almost 8 months now.  Has it really already been that long?! It was halloween day when I got a call from Beth Afandor and had a conversation with her saying that I have offically been accepted. I didn't realize they were only about 3 months into their school year when it all came about. I guess I was just super antsy about what the Lord wanted me to do this next year out of college. It was good because it did take about that long to raise support and PRAISE GOD that I am able to say that my support goal is covered for the first year!

Before I had the conversation with Beth I remember listening to this song "Waiting Here For You" By Christy Nockels

During the time of waiting between applying and getting accepted I remember praying, "God, I really want to do this!! However, Thy Will be done!" Then when I finally was accepted I put this song on again knowing it would be a long time waiting praying that I would not lose focus on here and now.  During these past 8 months I've had many people say "Haven't you left yet?" or "Are you already back?!" Ha.  But now I still have one month to go...which still seems like forever since I've been waiting for so long but I'm sure it'll approach sooner than later!

Back then I didn't know exactly what I was going to teach or who I was going to live with but now I do!

I will be the 5th grade Language Arts teacher and 5th/6th grade Social Studies teacher! (It's considered to be part of the middle school too...I never thought I'd be teaching in a 'middle school' but I'm excited nonetheless!)

Megan (I hardcore blog stalked her last fall when looking into the school and now we'll be living together. Ha.), Lauren, & Kelli will be my future roommates. Megan and Lauren taught there last year and it will be mine and Kelli's first year so it'll be great and helpful to be living with some returners!

Along with excitement of course comes some anxiety.  I've been telling some people that I think I'm more nervous for my first year of teaching and having my own classroom than moving to a different country.  I've realized that I'll have to deal with several different culture shocks which include:

1. Moving to a different country with a different culture and language than the one I was raised in.
2. Moving to a city of 7 million people! (way different than a town of 7,000 people)
3. Teaching a grade that I haven't had an extended experience with. (My student teaching experienece was only in a Kindergarten ELL & 1st grade classroom....but I love 5th graders and the little experience I have had with them!)

When I worry about these things however I can't help but think of when the Lord commissioned Joshua to lead Israel into the promised land right before Moses died. Joshua had to have felt some anxiety...after all....he was leading the Lord's people and was about to face several battles.  It's in these words that I find comfort for this next venture in my life:

"It is the LORD who goes before you.  He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you.  Do not fear or be dismayed." (Deuteronomy 31:8)

God was the one that led me up to this point...He surely isn't going to leave and say, "Okay Allie, I got you here...now go on and I'll just stay back here and watch."  Nope.  He's already there a month before me and will be with me and not leave me. How cool is that?!

With all this being said I'll just update you briefly on what's been going on and what this next month looks like:

I "walked" at graduation in May (and I say walked because I received my diploma in December. Concordia doesn't have a Dec. grad ceremony) and finished substitute teaching.

My family at graduation minus Brett

Then I moved back home with my parents but have hardly been home.  I've been traveling all over the place!

In late April I made a trip down to Mississippi to spend time with Sally & Kevin.

In mid-May I drove to Albuquerque, New Mexico with MaryLou for her summer job and then flew back.

Taking a break while hiking in the Sandia Mtns.
 with MaryLou

In late May I flew out to California to spend time with my brother Brett and sister-in-law Kaite.

Hiking up Yosemite Falls!

Brett & I in front of the type of jet he
flies for the Navy

Right after I flew back I went to Iowa to help out and be part of the wedding festivities to celebrate my beauitful friend Stacey & her husband Bryant's wedding!

Me, Stacey, & Hannah

I came home for a week and started tutoring English to a few kids who moved from Russia to Aurora a few months ago.

I was able to go out to Scottsbluff for a week to be a huddle leader at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes Distance Running Camp which was AWESOME!! The Gospel of Christ was spoken over and over, the high schoolers learned what it meant to glorify God through running, the Holy Spirit was on the move in and among us AND not to mention I absolutely loved my group of high school girls! The Lord reminded me just how much He has taught me through running. Oh, it was SO good to be able to serve the Lord through this ministry in my "backyard" that His Spirit is so powerfuly at work in. God definitely reignited a passion to learn and teach others about what it means to not steal God of His Glory through competing in sports.

My awesome FCA huddle!! 

Now, I've finally been home for a week straight and have been tutoring the Russian kids every morning and also tutoring a 5th grade girl in reading in the afternoons.  I've also been able to bike a lot and get back into running which has been a great delight!

I pray that this next month is not filled with idleness but rather that God would open up more ways to serve Him while in Nebraska before heading down to Bogotá. I plan on going to the ECA annual picnic in Chicago in early July and also hit up the Colombian Consulate for my visa. Please pray for this trek happening next weekend and that all the paper work and legistics works out the way it should.

Now....I shall end with this sweet devotion by Lecrae....ENJOY! :)

Subbing & Road Trippin'

I love substitute teaching!

The first three weeks of this year I didn't have any jobs and now I'm having an average of 3 jobs a week. Praise the Lord!

I have been in classrooms from Kindergarten through 5th grade and then Middle School Language Arts and, MY FAVORITE,  a Middle School Band Director! I have a music concentration so I took basic conducting in college and there's just something special about directing a real ensemble (of 6th and 7th graders) and making music together.  Beautiful.

I'm excited for my own classroom in Colombia, don't get me wrong, but it's so great being able to show up at school, impromptu teach for the day, and then leave with NO lesson planning to do.  The downside is that it doesn't really encourage relationships with the sutdents unless I'm in that classroom more than once.  I've been super blessed by only having maybe one classroom that wasn't been too cooperative but other than that it's been great! (Hopefully I'm not speaking too soon...)

The great thing about substitute teaching is that you can plan your own schedule.  Life is up in the air for sure but I'm all about flying by the seat of my pants. There are days where I don't know if I have a job until 30 minutes before school starts BUT I'm also able to turn down jobs if I have something going on such as a TWO WEEK ROAD TRIP hittin' up friends out West and seeing dearly loved ones before heading down South to Colombia for the couple years.

I love road trips!

This past year I've realized that one of my love languages is "Quality Time" and I absolutely love hanging out with friends and catching up on life and encouraging one another in our faith in Christ.  My love tank was filled to the brim by the end of it!

Trail I ran on in Denver

I started the trek first to Denver, Colorado and stayed with some sweet gals that I went to school with @ Concordia, Ellie & Andrea, and stayed at their place.  They had to work the next day so I was able to have breakfast with a friend from high school, Alli Christie, who lives out there and was able to catch up.  She told me about a running trail near the school she goes to so I decided to check it out and went on an hour and 1/2 long run/hike. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and the mountains in the background just added to the beauty.

Steeze

Next stop was Winter Park, Colorado.  Friends from high school, Tim & Bmarr, are working at the ski resort for the winter and we were able to hang out and ski.  Their roommate Max tried to teach me how to ski on moguls. I'm not a fan and just steered clear of them the rest of the day. :) Bmarr is getting legit at snowboarding so he was showin' his skillz in da park.

Downey & I

After some wonderful conversations and laughter I kept heading out West toward Pocatello, Idaho where I was able to meet up with my good pal and fellow day camp coordinator from Camp Perkins, Downey Day...Miss Jennifer Webster.  We went out to dinner with the Van Dyke Duo, Rachel and Jordan.  The next day she took me into the mountains but unfortunately it was rainy and we weren't able to hike outside.  But we were able to grab lunch and dinner and go over to Knuck's house because he had JUST got back from his long excursion in which he stopped in Nebraska for a few days.  It was great seeing him again because I didn't think I'd see him again before heading to Bogotá. But I did! Woo!

Snowshoeing at Camp Perkins

Rachel and I during our run!

I eventually made it up to camp just in time for the Men's Retreat! My favorite. HA. Yeah...that wasn't planned. But I was able to see Tracy Mueller and Rachel Schumacher! We played some fun card games that first night.  Then the men all left and it was just Rachel and I hanging out. We went snowshoeing and made a four headed snow creature.  Hung out in the Quinzhee AND of course went for a run.  The weather was beautiful for the two days I was up there.  It was so great to be in the midst of God's power manifested through the mighty mountains.

After Camp I went Northeast to Bozeman, Montana to meet up with my dear friend & fruitcake Julie Keeley! It was so great seeing her and the place she's been at since August.  We went down to Yellowstone to the Mammoth Hot Springs and took a dip in the hot springs too which was a wonderful natural hot tub. Then I got to see the church she works at and meet some of her youth.  I also met her friend Emily who's super sweet, as we share some of the same interests in books and mannerisms. :)

Julie and I at Yellowstone National Park

Then I finally made it to Laramie, Wyoming to be welcomed by Tommy "Tomasitooo" Sullivan and his wonderful mother, Sue. I met Tommy through my mission trip to Nicaragua.  He's part of my "Nica Fam" as we like to call it.   It was so great to catch up with him and everything God's doing in His life.  His mother made us dinner and couldn't have been more hospitable.  It's always great meeting the families of my "Nica Fam" 

All in all it was a very refreshing trip and I am so encouraged and in awe of the hospitality that was displayed and the genuine hearts of Service and Love that were revleaed and put into action.  I love each one of these people very much and couldn't feel more blessed by the Good Lord to know them!

On behalf of a Bogotá, Colombia update: I purchased my plane ticket and will be leaving the States on Sunday,  July 22, 2012 and couldn't be more excited!! The plane ticket definitely brings a reality to it, not that it wasn't real before.... :)

These next few months will be filled with more substitute teaching mixed in with some travel to Mississippi and California to see more dearly loved ones in my life.

I've been reading through Galatians and this verse at the end really stuck out to me so I shall end this post with the words of the Apostle Paul,

"From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen."  (Galatians 6:17-18)

Post-College Life

Well, it's official.  I am a college graduate. I have received my diploma, moved into a house in Seward, and have already been accepted to teach(!).............that is, in 6 months at an international Christian School in Bogotá, Colombia.  It's so weird. I know what I'm doing starting July 2012 for at least two years but now is a time of awkward waiting and living.

I have put my name in at several schools to substitute teach and still have yet to get a call.  In the meantime I have been searching for other jobs and interviewed at a place and will hopefully know more next week what my "daily routine" will look like for these next six months.  It does look like I will help with E.D.E.F.Y. (children's program) at People's City Mission (a homeless shelther in Lincon) so I am really excited about that!

So...the question is...what does Allie do during this awkward time in her life?? Right now my days are wide open and I'm trying to embrace it and take advantage of this rare opportunity--a time of relaxing and rejuvinating without too many obligations.

The Following list consists of things I am doing with all this free time:

1. Start the process of raising support (writing/sending letters, connecting with people, etc.) to help fund my time as a missionary teacher down in Bogotá.

2. I have been able to spend wonderful/intimate time with my Savior that is sometimes hard to find or set aside when dealing with a "busy" schedule.

3. A lot of leisure reading. No more textbooks! (For now...I mean I am a teacher...getting a masters is pretty much a necessity on every educators list to do in life...) I've been reading suggested books on missionaries raising support and other books such as Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis,  currently reading When Helping Hurts (How to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor and yourself), and soon start reading Discipline: The Glad Surrender by Elisabeth Elliot.

4. Exercise! I have had time to bike a LOT. I say bike and not run because my foot has been hurting me. :( I'm supposedly running a 5k race in Feb. and signed up for the full marathon in May.  It's actually been quite frustrating because I do have all this time and I could be using it for running but alas, I cannot because of the pain.  I think it's getting better though....please just pray for me. :)

5. Cook! I have been able to use this time to cook some yummy recipes. My favorite so far is Sweet Potato Enchilada Pie Stack. My host mom made this while I was in Frankenmuth. Deeeelicious!

6.  Connect with friends.  I have had time to spend time with friends who still live in Seward and/or go to Concordia and that has been wonderful.

7.  Help out at Hillcrest Evangelical Free's new church building by cleaning getting ready to move in.  Hopefully we'll be able to occupy the new building in less than a month!

8.  This one is a goal that I still have.  As you can tell I have been keeping busy with 1-7 so I've been putting this one on the back burner.  I would like to set aside time for studying Spanish and getting better at it before moving down to Colombia.  We'll see if that happens....

But there you have it.  In a sense I have felt that my days have been worthless and that my college degree doesn't mean anything because I'm not using it.  But I think that is a sense that comes from this world.  "You are what you do."  When someone asks you who you are the next question is usually "What do you do for a living?" And right now I don't have a "consistant" answer to that.

Thankfully though it's not about what I do but it's about what He's doing--refreshing, preparing, and teaching me.

Last week I went to a woman's Bible Study on the book of Revelation (intimidating, right?) So I have been reading through the book lately.  I love how it was/is being approached though.  It's not a "Let's figure this out so we know what to look for in the End Times" or  even "Let's use this time and debate on the different interpretations." Rather, it is "Let's study this book, and as we study it may the Lord use it to bring us into a state of awe and worship showing us what kind of God we have who loves His Bride, the Church."   I get overwhelmed just thinking about it. One day Christ is going to return and every knee will bow and tongue confess that He is Lord!! No more mourning or suffering... oh, what a glorious day that will be!

Check out this song by Brian Littrell (former backstreet boy! Fun Fact: I was a HUGE fan of Backstreet Boys in my pre-teen years.  I admit, I had a celeb crush on Brian...and now look--He's singing for Jesus and His Glory!)  Anyway, check it out: You Alone  (click on the first one) The lyrics come out of the following verses in Revelation.

"Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty.  Just and true are your ways, King of the nations.  Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy.  All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." Revelation 15:3-4 (NIV)