December 22nd and 23rd: Pre-Holiday Celebrations and an Evening To Be Remembered

Saturday, December 22nd:

This morning I went to the market to pick up a few things, then threw in a load of laundry. Unfortunately we lost city power, so my load stopped half way through the cycle... Just another reminder of our Kurdish motto, "Expect the unexpected." Just a little after noon I taxied to "the girls'" house where we ate lunch, curled our hair, played games, and I baked my dessert for the joint fellowship service. At 4, a couple of us headed over to the Institute to get things ready. I practiced songs and then we waited for people to arrive.

The service was an encouraging time of singing songs, praying, and joining in sweet fellowship. The group of internationals working here is evidence of God's provision for my spiritual needs. Without this body, it would be easy to fall into self-pity or discouragement. But hearing their testimonies and seeing God's work in their lives lifts me up and carries me forward.

For those of you who know me well, this was one of my first traditional Christmas celebrations. Yes, we didn't celebrate growing up. (If you want the reasons, you can email Dad for his list of 14.) :) Anyway, I learned some new songs (don't worry, "Joy to the World" was not one of them - I had sung it before) and enjoyed my first Christmas in Iraq!

One of "the girls" stapling the programs together. (I will come up with good nicknames, eventually.)

"Christingles"

Lots of food

It was a cool, clear, wintry night as we left, but one filled with warmth and love that can only come when a group of individuals is united in purpose to serve the One and Only.

When I got home, I finished my load of laundry, ever so thankful for city power, and crawled into bed rather late.

Sunday, December 23rd:

Today ended in a way I am not likely to forget for a long time. This morning I walked to school for the "Christmas Party," arriving just a little after 8:30 and thinking I was late. As it turns out, nothing happened until close to 10am! Even then, we were each assigned to one classroom and given the report cards to hand out to the few students who actually came to get them. After that, the students were free to go home and we sat and waited for another hour and half for any stragglers who might come in.

Some of the students brought in food, including this beautiful cake (taste didn't rate as high as appearance):

Pictures with my students as we waited for report cards:

Kindergarten actually organized an indoor party with music and gifts for all the students. Santa was there too! He must have come to this part of the world early in order to make it to America by the 25th...

Around 11:30, I helped the curriculum coordinator write a letter, then received permission to go home.

Back at home, I vacuumed the house and finished one more load of laundry. At 2pm, I went to visit my friend H. We had an encouraging time together, and once again she fed me some amazing Korean food! Her husband (a barista) was also home and made me a latte. :) After a couple hours, I taxied home ... the driver decided to smoke a cigarette on the way and my hair smelled awful by the time I got home. Jumped in the shower, then Skyped with my family. We had a shorter conversation than usual since I needed to pick up H before meeting "the girls" at 7pm.

We met at the Institute, then drove out to visit a friend, not before picking up sandwiches to-go. We ordered ten (some of them were for the family) which must be the equivalent of a Taco Bell Grande Meal since the guy just handed us a bottle of "Family Sauce" (an Iraqi special) to take with us! Even if I could share all the details of the evening, I don't think I could describe the wonder that overcame my heart during the visit. Suffice it to say, we read the Word together, prayed, and exhorted one another through an extremely trying time in this friend's life. We serve a truly Majestic God! I wish I could share more so that you back home might be able to glimpse what we have been given the privilege to experience. God calls us to pray for the unseen, which we do in faith, though sometimes with a lack of understanding in what to ask for. Tonight I was granted a unique opportunity, when the unseen became seen. At times like these, the heart is elevated in worship to God, faith is strengthened, and we are emboldened to continue our intercessions for greater things.

It was a late evening, but I left with a thankful heart to a God Who has and continues to reveal Himself to fallen man.

November 12th and 13th: Birthday Party!

Monday, November 12^th:

5B still loves shaking my hand in the morning. They line up outside the door when they hear me coming. I’ve noticed that it helps set the mood for the class.

After the lesson today, I gave each class a little background on Thanksgiving. Few of them knew it was a holiday, let alone why we celebrate it. I explained that there was a time when Americans couldn't worship God freely. They sailed across the ocean to America. Even though there weren't any houses there yet, and it was so cold that many of them died, they were thankful for a place where they could worship God. And they decided to have a special day where they thanked God for bringing them to America and giving them so many things. I told them that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I couldn't celebrate it with my family, so I decided to celebrate with them instead. Every year, my family decorates the house with nuts, leaves, and pumpkins. In the spirit of beginning new traditions here, I distributed fall clip art among the students. They wrote things that they were thankful for on an assortment of leaves, acorns and pumpkins. We will paste them around the classroom for our fall decoration.

After my classes, I worked on some grading, then helped monitor John's 7th grade class. They were really quiet and attentive... I hope it starts to become part of their habit when there isn't an extra set of eyes. From school, I took a taxi to Lisa's. We visited and caught up on life before our team meeting at 4pm. Andy led our study on submission to authority. One of the passages I was given to reflect on was from Matthew 8, which is part of the section I've been reading each morning. It was the account of the centurion's faith in Christ's authority. The other was also in Matthew where Christ declares to those who doubt Him that all power has been given to Him in heaven and in earth. A few take-aways: humility and recognition of unworthiness must come before submission * authority is given * submission to authority is evidence of faith * those in authority must also submit * Christ is our example both of submission and authority. Though He had all authority over heaven and earth, He humbled Himself, and submitted to death on a cross that those under His authority might be saved. In this sense, the centurion is a representation of Christ – humbling himself before the Healer that his servant’s life might be spared.

At 5:30pm I left Andy and Lisa's and caught a taxi home so I could get ready for a birthday party. My 6^th grade student, “Alice,” called to invite me to her party last night; when I walked into class today, all the girls were buzzing around, wanting to know if I would come. Of course, I would come! After wrapping the present to take to Alice's birthday, I hurried down the alley and around the corner to Jwan Sweet Shop. Three of the girls were there to meet me. We waited 30 to 45 minutes for the others to arrive, shouting “Happy Birthday” as Alice walked in.

The Sweet Shop is already very fancy, but the room was heavily decorated with balloons and streamers for the occasion.

My sixth graders and me (Alice is in the middle):

The girls played games, sang songs and gave imitations through a microphone. They made sort-of Congo line and persuaded me to follow with them. We were all laughing and having a good time.

It's not a party without party hats!

And of course, it's not a Kurdish party without fireworks! (Yes, they really lit these inside. All the while, balloons are popping like crazy!)

After the cake was cut, gifts were presented. I gave Alice a journal and a leather bracelet. She was really appreciative when she learned that my grandpa had made the bracelet. Most of the other gifts were fairly expensive - perfume, clothing, CDs, and jewelry.

After gifts, we sat down to a variety of desserts:

The party would have looked like the average American birthday party, except for the bodyguards standing outside the sweet shop the entire time. Most of the girls come from prominent families and usually have drivers/bodyguards who accompany them.

The sweet shop is owned by one of the 6^th grade girls’ father. My student introduced me to him and I was able to tell him that his daughter is a good student. (She is not the best in math, but she tries hard and has a fun time trying. Her mischievous grin and affectionate heart outweighs any of the grief she has caused by turning in late homework.)

After the party had died down, we ordered ice cream, finishing off the evening with more sugar. I didn’t get home until after 8:30pm and realized that I hadn’t had any dinner. By then I wasn’t in the mood to eat anything, but desperately wanted to brush my teeth and jump in the shower. Finished preparing the next day’s lesson and crashed into bed.

Tuesday, November 13^th:

A blustery morning as Pooh would’ve called it. As I walked through the schoolyard, the girls from the party greeted me warmly. Classes were a little talkative, especially since school has been called off for Thursday. The students are excited for a shorter week and an extra holiday. We are covering new material in 6^th grade and yesterday’s lesson was difficult. I was able to review it today, and breathed a sigh of relief as several eyes lit up with understanding.

I was not feeling well after school (probably from all the sweets last night) and napped for a couple hours. Read for a little while, then in a burst of energy, got all of my schoolwork done before heading off to Andy and Lisa's. On the way there, I picked up shwarma for dinner.

When I arrived, Lisa had just put Zephie to sleep. Zander was happy to see me. I watched him for a couple hours so Andy and Lisa could go on a date night. We played with duplos, ate dessert together, and played Handy Manny on my iPad. I tucked him as I would’ve tucked in Eithen at home. I even sang him one of my brothers’ favorite songs, “Trust and Obey.” Andy and Lisa got home a little before 9:30pm and Lisa gave me a ride home.

October 25th and 26th: End of the School Week, Beginning of an Adventure

Thursday, October 25th:

Today was the school's dress up party. Our apartment was hustle and bustle as we donned our outfits. My students asked me yesterday if I would dress up as a princess. Since I didn't have a Cinderella ball gown, I put together what I had and called myself a Grecian princess. Sarah went as a bird with her fancy mask that she found at Holland Bazaar. Mary dressed up as Sarah! She borrowed an outfit from Sarah's wardrobe, then came over so Sarah could do her hair. John and Henry dressed up as students in their blue, collared shirts and jeans.

As we walked outside, it was raining pretty steady. I suddenly wished I'd dressed up as someone wearing jeans, a thick jacket, and heavy boots! We taxied to school and noticed almost immediately how quiet it felt. No kids anywhere in sight. When we walked into the teacher room we created quite a stir! None of the other teachers had dressed up, and because of the rain they were telling kids not to come in. We waited until Andy and Lisa arrived in their superhero outfits, took a couple pics, then taxied back home.

A couple kindergartners were the only students who came dressed up despite the rain...

I jumped into a nice hot shower, changed into traveling clothes and pulled all my last minute things together for the trip. With a couple extra hours ahead of us, I made a cup of tea and curled up with a book. A little after 2:30p Samer came to pick us up. Sarah and I said goodbye to John and Mary, then hopped in the car to start our trek to Erbil.

Beautiful sunset on the way down...

We arrived at the Winchester's around 5:30p. After a delicious baked potato dinner, Sarah and I read for a little bit while the family went visiting. Hit the sack pretty early.

Friday, October 26th:

A leisurely morning, although it started at 5:45a with an early call to prayer and holiday message for the Eid. I read for most of the morning, enjoyed a fried egg and coffee for breakfast, and iMessaged Mary. They thoughtfully messaged last night to make sure we arrived safely! I've already been told that my "cousin" Brad is in Erbil (he is not related, but has an organization that gives out wheelchairs to kids in need.) All the internationals have decided we are related... Funny how word spreads so quickly. For lunch, we had cheese quesadillas and pico de gallo ... with CILANTRO! In the afternoon, Sarah and I walked around the neighborhood for some exercise, visited with the other SGI family and met some local neighbors.

Back home to read and rest.

October 19th and 20th: Playing in the Rain

Friday, October 19^th:

Had a good time at Fellowship this morning. We looked at Galatians 2 – the reproachful behavior of the Christian Jews towards their Gentile brethren. There were several personal applications, but one in particular addressed that morning’s taxi drive. The driver insisted that I wasn’t American and even asked if I worked in a massage (different connotation here). Falling under such scrutiny and being looked on as “unclean” is difficult. The temptation (which the Gentile Christians faced) is to look to the externals for security rather than Christ, to build on the gospel with outward forms. God patiently brought me through this lesson last year. It was in my defilement that Christ delivered me. And it was nothing other than His blood that saved me. Though I may not be wicked in the way that the people here believe me to be, it is true that I once “walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air.” Christ alone is my salvation and my defense.

After fellowship, I walked to Texas Chicken to order lunch (and use their wifi). Sarah arrived a little later and we did some research on a possible trip to Istanbul. We found out yesterday that our four day weekend just turned into a 10 day holiday! After a couple of hours, we still weren’t done and decided to order an ice cream so we would have an excuse to stay and use their wifi.

We got home, rested, then “borrowed” Mary’s Internet to purchase airline tickets. One of the teachers from school called to say that he had a solution to our Internet problem. He came by to deliver a new Internet stick. This one is pay-per-use, so we are still a little restricted in our usage. However, we are extremely grateful to have Internet again!

Saturday, October 20^th:

This morning, I helped out at Andy and Lisa's basketball clinic for CSM students.

It was a beautiful morning!

I helped with the girls' session from 9:30 to 11am.

(Photo courtesy of Sarah)

And stayed from 11 am to 2 pm to help with the boys' sessions and take pictures. Just as the girls' session finished, it started raining! Not just sprinkling, but real Oregon rain! The boys thought we would have to stop the clinic, but we kept right on playing. The rain was refreshing and cool (no mugginess afterwards). It felt just like home!

Jump ball!

After our coaches' lunch, I finished my schoolwork, cleaned house, and hung some coat hooks and a picture! (Thanks Grandpa for the horse picture and the masonry drill bit to hang it with!)

New coat rack:

New picture above my desk:

Rearranged some pictures:

Since August, I've received several emails from church family that include their favorite Bible verses. I've been writing the verses out on "leaves" and adding them to my tree. We'll see how big it grows! The plate was a secondhand find in Erbil. It would be fun to know the story behind it. My only clue is the engraved word "Albania" on the back of the plate.

At 6:30 pm, I headed over to A&L’s to watch college football! They streamed the Iowa State vs. Oklahoma State game on their big screen. We had an assortment of tailgate food - popcorn, chips, soda, and mug brownies. It was hard to believe we were actually in Iraq! A late night, but definitely worth it!

October 17th and 18th: Sunrise to Sunset - Sharing Time with Friends

Wednesday, October 17^th:

Today overflowed with activity and blessing. Woke up at 5 am and dressed in the dark, so we could go on a sunrise hike. It was magnificent! The hike was a little steep in some places and the loose gravel meant it was easy to lose your footing (reminded me of Dad’s description of the McLaughlin hike, although this hike was only about 40 minutes to reach the top.)

Still pretty dark out as we made our ascent:

The sun just peaking over the ridge

Sunrise! (Duhok Dam below us)

A beautiful morning in the valley:

On the way down, we stopped at the cave where Andy, Dan, and John spent the night last Spring.

We got back to our apartment around 7:30. I took a quick shower, got ready for school, and met the rest of the group in front of our apartment at 8 am. The college students were able to sit in on some classes – Mary’s humanities class, Lisa’s art class, Sarah’s literature class, a science class and a humanities class taught by local teachers. All of my classes went really well. By God’s goodness, 5B is making a turnaround. They love lining up at the door to give me a handshake before they walk in. Yesterday, seven of my best students were in class early. “Miss, why can’t this be our class? The rest make noise and we can not study.” Understanding their frustration, I “recruited” them to be my secret role-model agents. They have promised to be on their very best behavior, regardless of the distractions, in order to help me. As part of our plan, I make a concerted effort to call on them, point out their example, and pass them a couple winks during the lesson. It’s been fun for all of us and I notice that the minor improvement in their behavior has had an effect on the rest of the class. Today, only one student lost his break.

In 5A one of my students was indignant when I wrote his name on the board. Even though he knew why I had issued the warning, he refused to complete any classwork. I added an X for breaking my first rule, “Try your best.” And then another X for the disrespectful behavior that followed. After class I talked to him a little bit, but he was still upset with me.

6B has been noisier each day. I finally sent three students out of the class and told them they could have their conversation outside. The class breathed a sigh of relief. When one of the students poked his head in the door and asked if he could come in, I told him that I could hear them talking outside and knew they weren’t ready to come back in. I heard a couple chuckles from the rest of the class.

During the breaks, I’ve been sitting outside the 6^th grade classrooms and visiting with my students. They love teaching me Kurdish words and asking me about my life. I get to hear about their lives and learn about their interests. Today, I noticed that some of the students were upset. As it turns out, 6A has some drama … I was addressing it at the beginning of class when one of the students told me, “Miss, it has finally started. All last year we had this problem.” Right then, I knew what I’d be tackling this year. Near the end of my class, the teacher after me (Miss A) asked if I could stay for 10 or 15 minutes while she went on an errand. The kids needed extra time anyway due to the interruption at the beginning of class, so it wasn’t a problem.

After 15 minutes and Miss A hadn’t come back, I told 6B to start on their homework assignment. Half of the class did exactly as I asked and worked quietly on the assignment. The other half didn’t even try; they whispered to each other and passed notes. Ten minutes before class ended, I announced that anyone who had been working on the assignment could turn it in for full marks. They didn’t understand at first. “Miss, but I’m not done.” I explained that God says, “Them that honor Me, I will honor.” Because they had honored me through their obedience, I wanted to honor them with full marks on their assignment. It was obviously a novel concept. “Really Miss? You will give me 20 out of 20 even though I didn’t finish?”

During the next session, I taught John’s 7^th grade math class (a little hesitantly since I know they act out a lot for John). God kept them under control and strengthened my voice so I could teach the entire lesson. [Side note: they told Mr. John the next day that they didn’t understand anything, even though I explained the lesson three different ways and had them solve example problems. Oh bother!]

After school, I headed over to Andy and Lisa’s to visit with Lisa, Lisa H, and Mary who hadn’t gone to Al Qosh. We chatted until the rest of the group got back and we went to dinner at Dilshad Palace. (It’s not really a palace, just a fancy restaurant). On the way back, Lisa H, Sarah and I were dropped off at the Mareen St. apartment. (Sarah and I wanted to show Lisa our rooms). We grabbed some bonfire clothes, then walked back to A&L’s. Realizing we needed chocolate and crackers for our bonfire S’mores, I ran back out to the ducan (corner market) near A&L’s to buy some. As I left the ducan, God impressed on me that the owner had given me too much change. I went back, to the owner’s surprise, and gave him the extra money. A good opportunity to demonstrate honesty and uprightness.

We enjoyed our bonfire…

And got home late and exhausted.

Thursday, October 18^th:

Happy Birthday Eithen!

The group left early this morning. My throat still hasn’t gotten the rest it needs, but thankfully I had a review day in all of my classes. All of my students were really good. In 5A, I couldn’t help noticing that the student who was so upset with me yesterday was on his very best behavior. I was shocked! I made sure to thank him … and then thanked the Lord, knowing that these changes don’t come from anything I do or say.

After school, I came home and slept for 2.5 hours! My voice was almost gone. Thankful for the time to rest and recover. John, Mary, Sarah, and I went to Vin House for dinner. We were all craving “American” food (hamburger and fries). A great way to end the weekend! I tried to Skype with Eithen for his 3rd birthday, but John and Mary's Internet ran out too ... not a good week for Internet.

October 5th and 6th: Sightseeing In Erbil

Friday, October 5th:

This morning we walked to Costa Rica Coffee Shop. It was about a two-mile walk, but we were able to go through a huge park with trees, green grass and lots of foliage. The coffee shop, much to our relief, was the real deal (or "legit" as Lisa would say). 

Enjoying lattes and chocolate muffins.

Andy and John took the kids back to the house for their morning naps. The ladies got to hang out together, journaling, reading, and talking. We grabbed lunch from the nearby Papa John's and Burger Queen (Burger King and Dairy Queen combined) and took it home to the guys.

Close to 1:30 pm, the girls were off again! K took us to Langa, a GIANT secondhand market! We shopped until we dropped ... well, dropped off our bags at home and headed off to the Citadel.

Deep in the labyrinth of the market.

The Citadel is said to be "the oldest continuously inhabited town in the world." It is layers upon layers of cities. We couldn't go below, but saw some of the old ruins on the top level. They are "renovating" the structure, which means (unfortunately) that much of the historical architecture is being replaced.

The Citadel

Carvings on a post

View from the Citadel

The Citadel was an amazing place to visit. It would be neat to know what it was like to live there. K said she met an older man during one of their visits who said he had grown up there as a child. The street was divided - men would walk down one side and women on the other. That little glimpse sparked my curiosity and I couldn't help but wonder what each civilization was like, how each layer would represent the culture's priorities and "personality."

As we left the Citadel, we passed the main bazaar (which is a city in itself). K ordered a juice and we all ended up getting a fresh-squeezed fig juice for free! I love free! And the juice was excellent too! From there we took a taxi to Abu Shahab where we met John and Mary for dinner. I had an Iraqi "salad plate" and Sarah ordered pizza. We stopped at a nearby grocery store for ice cream, then walked home. Happy to just hang out. Unfortunately, the "Butter Pecan" ice cream that John picked out was actually butter-flavored ice cream with walnuts. Guess it is best to take things literally here! As we sat around on the couches, Sarah braided my hair. Sarah likes to try new styles ... and I love to have someone play with my hair! It was so relaxing and looked amazing...

 We ended up playing the "name game." It was our first time playing with Sarah ... I'm glad she didn't decide to leave our team after seeing how wild and crazy we can be!

Saturday, October 6th:

At 7:30 am, K came to the house so she, Sarah and I could walk to a mosque that we had driven by the other day. It was over 2 miles, but good exercise for the morning. We passed this fountain on the way there... I want a miniature one in my room!

Here is the mosque in the distance. Erbil is a very dusty city!

And finally, up close!

The building was enormous.

Intricate tile work that covered the mosque:

The garden next the mosque was beautiful.

We took a different route home, which kept the 2.5 mile walk interesting. Sarah and I regrouped with the team. Mary and John decided to hang out at home. Andy went to look at vehicles with a friend. (Andy and Lisa are thinking about buying a car!) The rest of us (Lisa, the kids, K, her daughter, Sarah and I) went to Family Mall. We loaded up in one taxi. Tight squeeze! Sarah and I split off to look for some things and get a bite to eat. We rendezvoused around 1, so we could get back to the house for a 1:30 pm departure. We were a little later than planned, but ended up waiting for the driver to arrive anyway. Loaded up everything and everyone in an H1 and made it back to Duhok around 5 pm.

I unpacked, took a shower, did a load of laundry, uploaded pics, and even squeezed in a little school work! :) Sarah and I watched a movie with popcorn, then off to bed...

September 27th and 28th: The ABC's (Akre, Birthdays, and Chicken ... Texas Chicken)

Thursday, September 27th:
This morning we walked to school and one of the first things Sarah said was, "It's COLD!" We had to laugh because it was probably in the 70s, but there was definitely a nice breeze that made it feel like Autumn was here (the students will correct us if we use "Fall" - "It's Autumn here, Miss").

My first class (5B) went pretty well. It seems to be the same repeat-offenders, who interrupt class with complaints, "He said bad words to me, Miss," "He kicked me, Miss," "Say to him, Miss." (Which means, "Tell him to stop bothering me.") This morning I borrowed a trick of Mary's and told my class that I wasn't their mother (I got a few giggles from that one) and shouldn't have to deal with their squabbles during class. If they wanted to tattle, they could save it for after class. After that, I tried to ignore them while the rest of us completed the lesson. I promised the class that if we made it through the chapter and the even-numbered problems, I wouldn't assign them any homework for the weekend. I put dashes on the board (like Hangman) to spell out "Lesson 19 odds"; each time they got too noisy, I put another letter up on the board. If I spelled out the entire assignment, then that would be their homework. As a whole, they did well and we only made it up to the first letter "d". :) After class, I pulled the four boys aside and told them that when I was little and I said "bad words," my mom would clean out my mouth with a bar of soap. I told them that I wouldn't wash out their mouths, but expected them to keep their mouths clean. They definitely understood the imagery (though they had obviously never heard of it before).

In my second class, I gave them the same promise of no homework if they could listen attentively. While completing the warm-up, they asked me for help with the problem-solving question which read, "For breakfast, lunch, and dinner Sam ate soup and eggs and ham, one for each meal, but not necessarily in that order. List all the possible arrangements of meals Sam could have eaten." I wrote out abbreviations for each meal and each food item, then began, "If Sam had soup for breakfast, what could he have eaten for lunch?" A long pause. "Miss, what is ham?" I about choked. It took me a few seconds to regain my composure. I finally said, "You don't eat that here. It's pig." And then moved on as quickly as possible, changing the entire problem to include rice, chicken, and dolma. It was hard to keep the lesson moving, but we made it through and they earned their no-homework assignment.

My two sixth grade classes went well and I didn't have to assign them homework either. My second sixth grade class can be really rowdy as I discovered when the teacher after me didn't come for her lesson. (She was at her brother's wedding). The curriculum coordinator came in to make a change to their schedule, and I offered to stay so that the students wouldn't disrupt the other classes. While they are good students in my class and follow my procedures, their 45 minutes with me was up as far as they were concerned, and they did not want to have to stay in the classroom. School ended at 1pm, so they were anxious to leave and go home. Eventually I let the quiet students go after answering a math question, and then there were six (boys). They went wild. Being stubborn can be a good thing at times, and I wore them down. In the end, they answered a math question and were allowed to leave. It was chaos for awhile though.

At 1pm, we had a teacher meeting. N translated for me since the principal led the meeting in Arabic. I couldn't help but take the meeting personally. The principal started by telling us that we didn't need to bring every little problem to him (i.e. my kids going to him so that he would resolve disputes between them), then told us that we should be forgiving and loving towards them (i.e. the other day, a student didn't bring his books. I told him that it was his responsibility to come prepared, but he could share with someone else for the day, as long as he paid attention and didn't use it as an excuse to talk. I moved on, turned around a few minutes later and he was talking. I sent him to the principal to say that he hadn't come prepared and wasn't going to listen in class. The principal sent back a note, "Please forgive him this once." My student was grinning ear-to-ear and all the other kids thought it was pretty sweet.) Sigh. The language barrier is a problem since I can't always communicate the issue effectively. Secondly, my kids know it is a problem and use it to their advantage. I left the meeting feeling discouraged and not sure how to "fix the problem." I realized almost as quickly that I was trying to cover my shame. The principal may have a poor, albeit false, opinion of me, but I must trust that God is the lifter of my head.

Sarah and I decided to go to Texas Chicken to celebrate the end of the work week. A teacher from school was gracious enough to give us a ride. It was fun to have a special treat, and I enjoy being with Sarah. There is always something new to discover that we have in common. For instance, we both have Navy dads, but who would have thought that both of us would grow up hearing, "Keep your head on a swivel." :) Go figure!

When we got home, I tried to process the events of the week. There have been several instances just in the last five days where I have been misrepresented and bothered/frustrated by it. I think it goes back to the lecture about greed, surprisingly enough. The lecture used money as the example, but the principle that money is where we place either our self-worth or our security is something I've been trying to apply to other areas. I think that my reputation and what others think of me is like money. I am greedy with it. And greed blinds us. It asks us to die in order to have what we treasure. When I know that someone else thinks poorly of me, I feel ... mortified (which comes from the Latin, to put to death, to deaden). Essentially, my feelings are a sacrifice that feeds my treasure. The lecture talks about "giving graciously." Am I willing to give graciously of my reputation? If my reputation doesn't define me, then what does? Second point in the lecture: Jesus is our treasure. Is He enough? The Sunday School answer is, "Of course." But do I really believe that? Jesus is the only treasure that gave Himself that I might have Him. I don't have to feel mortified. Instead of clinging to my reputation, I can rejoice in Jesus Christ. And then it hits me, "Delight in the Lord." I have so much to learn.

I Skyped with my family in the evening, then went to bed at 12am (a little later than I planned since we are leaving around 8am tomorrow...)

Friday, September 28th:
S, a teacher at our school, picked us up this morning at 8:15 (and he was right on the dot). We drove out to Akre (about 2 and half hours away), turned northwest, went over a mountain range and down into a valley. It was a wonderful picnic spot near a creek (a very large tour group from Erbil thought so too!) We played in the water. Then ate a huge lunch with S's family and celebrated his little cousin's fourth birthday.

Our picnic spot

Playing in the water (barda - cold)

S and his brother dunking their younger cousin in the water.

Sarah and I going barefoot. I love the laughter on Sarah's face!

Playing the ring game. One person hides the ring in one of his teammates hands. Everyone on the team holds out their fists and the other team has to guess who has the ring. If they ask you to open your hand ("tuug" in Arabic), and you have the ring, then you say, "Buut" and your team gets a point!

Our appetizers (broad beans, chickpeas, and olives)

S's cousin and sister, Sarah, and me

On the way home, we saw this rock and thought it might be a memorial or landmark of some kind. Nothing but graffiti, but it was fun to take pictures.

Looking back into the valley where we had our picnic

We got home around 5:30pm. As I walked in the door, my family was calling on Skype! Hannah and I planned a birthday surprise for Mom. Unbeknownst to her, Hannah was downstairs setting it up, and she had been banished upstairs. Seeing I was online, she decided to call me. We talked for awhile, then Grandpa brought her downstairs (and I got to come too!) I had planned on seeing pictures afterwards, but getting to be there was even better! There were 50 colorful balloons waiting for her and each one had a "reason to be thankful you're 50" attached to it. I got to sing "Happy Birthday" and watch as she read the first one. She read the others throughout the day. Grandma made a breakfast brunch, and even though I couldn't enjoy the food, I got to spend time with them and celebrate the moment.

Dad and I talked for over an hour. We had an encouraging discussion about the things God is teaching us right now. Dad is doing a lesson on contentment and grappling with what it means to "submit and take pleasure in the things God has appointed for us," even when that means injustices or afflictions. We talked about how that fits with delighting in God. Dad reminded me that when I face misrepresentation, I must give my burden to Him and take His yoke upon me. And then I realized, Jesus' yoke is easy and His burden is light. Why? Because it is Him! He is our treasure. As we give Him our burdens, He gives us Himself. This means that submission to the Father's will, love for the brethren, etc. are the result of striving for, delighting in Jesus Christ. Submission or contentment or selflessness are not the end in themselves; they come as we find our treasure in the Lord Jesus Christ.

After "eating" a bite of cake and "blowing out the candles" with Mom, we ended the birthday celebration at 8:30pm. Sarah and I went over to John and Mary's for movie and homemade donuts night. Yummy! Another late night as I fell into bed at 11:30.