Hello all!
The past weeks have been incredibly busy, so I’d like to apologize for the lapse in communication on my part. Every school day was full of activities with students, conferences, meetings, and reading. Every weekend was full of Youth Group activities, Women’s Project outreach, retreats, camps, and Church outings. Let me give you a quick update:
-At school, we are working on research papers, short stories, and AP Essay analysis. The younger kids were given the opportunity to choose their research topics, as long as they applied what we learned about writing. This means I get to read amazing papers on topics ranging from loud noises and migraines to seeing-eye dogs and drones. It’s been so fun. The 9-10 graders are writing creative short stories, and it’s been a pleasure seeing them explore their own styles. They are incredibly talented and creative. The AP classes are analyzing everything from old political speeches to essays written by fellow students. We’ve discussed education, work, economics, gender, rhetoric, and so much more. In Psychology class, my students are studying their families and peers to try to predict behavior based on what we’ve learned. We’ve discussed addiction, language, neuroscience (I taught science?!) and so much more. That class keeps me on my toes with their insightful questions. And now some of the classes are reading A Christmas Carol, as we all count the days til Christmas Break. I’m so thankful to work in a job that is challenging and fulfilling and fun.
-The Junior/Senior class goes through a program called Re-Entry. We recently went on a weekend retreat with them, discussing culture shock, personality traits (and how they react under pressure), and questions they had about college.
We will be helping them with college applications, roommate applications, banking, job searches, etc. The weekend retreat was spent playing games, hiking, and enjoying the mountain air. Massive amounts of coffee and snacks were consumed. We played a game in which some were blindfolded, some had earplugs, and some had tape over their mouths. They had to complete challenges as teams. Hilarity ensued. These kiddos are facing some tough days ahead; moving to another country for college (many have never lived in the country they are moving to). I’m glad to have the chance to share my personal experiences and the lessons I learned with them.
-Youth Group is learning about some tough stuff! We gave them the opportunity to ask us questions and propose
the topics they’d like us to cover. We’ve been jumping from Fasting and Prayer to Friendship to the book of Job. As leaders, we get to learn and research and question these topics as well. We’re so thankful for kiddos that are eager to learn. We are also pretty excited about playing games for Messy Christmas,our Youth Group party.
-For Women’s Project, we’ve recently felt discouraged and encouraged at varying levels. The few girls that lived in Oaxaca for more than one month, girls whose trust we’ve slowly gained, moved away. We were left in a bit of a lurch, trying to start from scratch with new girls. In happy news, we gained two new team members! They’ve started to come with us on our outreach visits, and their new enthusiasm and energy is contagious.
-This week I had my very first planning meeting for Missionary Kid Camp. The team that’s working with me is amazing, consisting of teachers and staff from different missionary schools in Mexico. We are all excited for camp, and we have similar goals and hopes for what camp can be.
-Church is busy with planning for the Christmas program. My Sunday School group is helping the little kids put together a play. We are extras, as well as scenery people, costume designers, etc. We are also planning activities and lessons for next year. In addition to that, we’ve started to discuss our youth camp that will take place in April. Our mission outreach program is going well, with teams headed to all the villages and neighborhoods regularly, doing Bible studies and discipleship programs.
In the chaos and hectic schedule of life as a missionary, it’s so wonderful to have a reminder to stop and be thankful. I am so blessed. Your prayers, support, kindness, and encouragement are so precious to me. I am surrounded by wonderful people who are passionate about ministry. I have a lovely roommate who provides coffee and conversation on evenings when the papers to grade seem unending. My students and youth kiddos are kind and genuinely great kids. I am provided for, and due to your generosity, I've been able to save up and buy a computer to work on, something that I have desperately needed for months. So, thank you. I pray that in this festive time you are surrounded by family, laughter, love, coffee, and good food.
Gracias,
-Ruth