April 9th and 10th: Love In Deed

Tuesday, April 9th:

Another holiday! It feels strange to only go to school for two days at a time ... like the weekend and the work week have been reversed. Today was Baghdad Liberation day. I had a stack of grading to get done since yesterday was the last day to turn in late homework from the past two weeks. I let the students turn in their homework late, but the last day is always test day. (I realized at the end of Phase 1 that letting them turn in HW until the end of the phase was a REALLY bad idea!)

I was thankful for a day off to get all of the grading done. I also cleaned and worked out - it was a productive day and I didn't even have to get out of my pajamas!

Wednesday, April 10th:

I was able to have several good conversations about the verse of the day: "let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth." The students gave examples of people who do not love in their actions, but only say that they love others. It is neat to see how our previous verses are tying in ... when we love in deed and in truth, we love with all of our hearts, souls, and minds; and if we love God, we will keep His words (DO what He says). Again, this reminded us that we learn math because we love God. I encouraged the students to learn math not just so they can talk about it, but so they can use it (in deed) and understand (in truth).

One of the former teachers came to school to say hello today. She is very friendly and well-liked; it was good to see that she still felt "at home" with everyone. She greeted me with a hug right away and then presented me with three gifts that she bought specifically for me. I was really affected by her love for me, though we only knew each other a short time. I've thought of her often since she left and it was encouraging to see her, to know that we are remembered by the people we meet here.

At last year's school picnic

(she is the teacher on the right)

Hannah and I walked home ... it was much cooler today and ended up raining in the late afternoon. After lunch, I ended up taking a long nap. I think I'm coming down with something, which is odd since I just started taking an antibiotic a few days ago. I've had some pain in my throat for the last month and my doctor back home recommended that I take the antibiotics. Today my throat was really sore, and I slept as though my body was trying to recover. I hope the antibiotics kick in before the sore throat gets worse.

After I woke up, I graded today's homework papers, then got a couple projects done. We went over to John and Mary's for a conference Skype call (and enjoyed some homemade apple crisp from Mary's kitchen). A good talk with Dave and Lisa before heading for bed.