May 3rd through 4th (Days 116-117): Dust Storm, Art Show, and Southern Sweet Tea

May 3rd:
The storm last night brought a huge cloud of dust with it. This picture made me think of the verse, "I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light."

Here's a view of the city from our school on a normal day:

Today:

Cough, cough ... Amazing, huh?!

My kids were pretty good ... there are always ups and downs, but it gives me hope to see that they actually want to do well in Math. I think they are seeing consistency in the way I teach and that a good grade is attainable as long as they do their work and try their best. During my breaks I graded homework and got ready for the art show / science fair.

The art show / science fair was a major production. Lisa came around noon and hung up drawings for about two and half hours (the other art teacher and I helped between classes). Here's Lisa feeding Zephie (such a good mama!) 

The kids got out of their classes around 2:30, but they weren't allowed to go through the art exhibit until 2:45. I snuck my third grade class in so they could see their art work since most of them had to take the bus home and couldn't stay.

Parents arrived around 2:30, but we put a red ribbon up to keep them out. At 2:45ish, (drum roll) the principal gave some kind of speech, then cut the ribbon (oh my!) and parents were allowed in. The art portion certainly wasn't ribbon-cutting worthy. We just taped (and re-taped) the artwork to the walls. I didn't see that anyone really looked at it too closely. The science fair went pretty well. The kids had prepared some neat experiments and enjoyed giving their demonstrations. At 4pm, the show rolled up. Tables were down, artwork was in the trash, and science materials were scattered around the courtyard. It's easy to see why no one takes the time to prepare too much in advance ...

Exhausted when I got home, so rested a little before going out to dinner with the team. We went to Al-Azaim, which is a restaurant on the other side of town.

I had mushroom steak, which tasted pretty good. It was nice to have meat for a change ... We ate outside (despite the dust), had the waiters ask to take pictures with the babies, and enjoyed the ambient lighting:

Five of us squeezed into a taxi - the taxi driver was really weird and acted like he didn't understand our Kurdish - we breathed a sigh of relief once we got home.

May 4th:

Had a quiet day at fellowship and then at home. In the morning I walked to Andy and Lisa's where we had nearly a full house for our time together. Looking at Luke 6, we were reminded that following Christ requires a great deal of trust - we strive for wealth, fullness, laughter, and respect, but Christ reminds us that those are curses. As we walk with the Lord through our poverty, hunger, tears, and disrepute, we learn to look to Him as our All. He is our Root from whence comes our good fruit, He is our foundation from whence comes our immovable shelter. Praying that those around me will see the good fruit and a strong city and want to know more about their Source.

Our fellowship was split into two groups because of its size a couple months ago. The other group happened to be meeting at Dan and Julie's (and barbecuing) so some of us crashed their party after our time was over. We said goodbye to Matt and Brad who flew out today. Ate some yummy, American-style food hamburgers, baked beans, and Southern sweet tea) and enjoyed catching up with friends from the other group. Caught a ride home around 4pm.

Here is a beautiful blossom from one of the trees in Dan and Julie's yard:

Spent the afternoon resting, then skyped with Jessica at 7 and enjoyed hearing funny stories from back home.