October 9th and 10th: Feeling Further from Home, but Drawing Nearer to God

Tuesday, October 9th:
As we walked to school this morning, Sarah made the comment that this was the coldest day yet ... somehow "frostbite" even made it into the conversation :) It still gets pretty warm by the afternoon, but the early mornings and evenings are pleasant.

I had a much better day, even though 5B wasn't very good. "Pedro" is acting out again. It's amazing how much his misbehavior affects the class; it has made me more thankful for his one week of outstanding performance. I know that a large portion of the overall class behavior is my own attitude. I went to school feeling more encouraged about the day, but by the second class, I wasn't feeling very well. Thankfully it wasn't a "just get through the lesson" day, though I did leave school wondering how/why I'd regressed (or the class had regressed) to teaching for two minutes, disciplining a student, teaching for one minute, sending a student out of the class...

During the breaks I visited with some of the older students. It is nice to build relationships outside of the classroom setting and apart from the teacher-student roles. I remind them that they are setting the example for the younger students. And every so often, I ask one of them to speak to their younger brother (or sister) about behaving in class ... and it works!

At 1 pm, I walked to the market to T's office. She is the lady I met last year who introduced me to the orphanage. She works for an organization that protects the rights of local citizens. When I arrived, she told me that they were waiting for the supervising organization to come and make their monthly inspection. The visits are unannounced, so she wasn't exactly sure when they would arrive. I ended up waiting for two hours. We talked for a bit, then I graded papers in a separate room while they conducted a meeting with the supervisors. Close to 3:30 pm, T and I left the office to walk around the market. We bought shwarma to-go and ate them  in a juice shop. I had "keis" juice (apricot). Afterwards, we visited some of the shops that belong to her relatives and stopped by the "bala" or second-hand market to buy T a new bag. By then it was close to 5:30 pm when we said our goodbyes. I was able to have a profitable conversation with T. I trust that the Lord will continue to provide opportunities for good discussions, especially as she has expressed that I am her only friend here. I need to pray for wisdom in this area. T is twice my age and I often feel that I do not have the knowledge or experience to challenge her with deeper thinking.

I came home and graded papers. God was good to me; the work was not as difficult as I'd expected. I had prayed that my time with T would honor Him ... in His goodness, He blessed me with a more relaxing evening than I'd planned. After I finished grading, Sarah and I ate popcorn and watched a movie. At 9 pm, I got to Skype with Dad. It was encouraging to talk to him. Despite our vast geographical difference, we seem to struggle with similar trials.

Wednesday, October 10th:
There was a mosquito in my room last night! I was up until 11 pm with the biting and buzzing, then again at 1 am, 3 am, and 5 am! I tried to pray, but was overwhelmed with the physical exhaustion. The alarm went off, already 5:30 am! I felt myself sinking into discouragement, but was determined not to get ready for school, until I'd sought the Lord earnestly for a better attitude and a desire to please Him first. He answered prayer! My reading took me to Psalm 50. As I read, I began to ask myself, "Who am I to demand anything of God? Do I believe that He is the God who 'called the earth from the rising of the sun' and has 'a fire that devours before Him?'" Humbled, I read verse 15. "Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me." This is the command of the God I serve. Today He will deliver me. Today He will cause me to glorify Him. Encouraging thought that this does not depend on my willingness, my health, or my attitude.

It was with a much lighter heart that I walked to school today. After my talk with Dad last night, I decided to change up my routine. Thankfully, I was able to start right away. A group of boys from 5B was hanging out in the garden before the bell rang. I walked up to them, "Cewani bashe!" (Good morning!) They shook my hand, eyeing me quizzically. Their faces relaxed as they realized I was just there to chit-chat. Eager to have my attention, they asked me questions and told me that in Kurdish, they say "charsham" (day four) instead of Wednesday.

When I walked into class, I wrote "Wonderful Wednesday" on the board and explained that my dad always tells my brother to have a wonderful Wednesday when he drops him off at school. I wanted to share that phrase with them, so they could have a wonderful Wednesday (or charsham gelleck hoshe) too! I handed out stickers to students who were working quietly and that seemed to keep them quiet until about the last 15 minutes of class. Sarah came in twice to check behavior and take students out of the class if needed. I didn't end up sending any of them out, but three of the boys may need it tomorrow.

5A can be emotionally difficult. They seem to have a lot of drama in that class. A boy made an inappropriate hand gesture behind my back that I happened to catch. One of the girls ended up crying. And half the class laughed at her for it! I took time at the end of the lesson to talk to individual students about their behavior. I tried to emphasize that God's command to love others more than ourselves is more important than math.

6B was really talkative, but I think they felt that I was in a better mood. One student commented, "Miss, you are happier today!" Of course they all wanted to know why this Wednesday was wonderful, and it took some time to explain that any day can be exciting!

During the break, I visited with one of the teachers who was "responsible" for the older grades during "garden". She taught me a little Kurdish and I told her about my weekend in Erbil. After she left for her class, I sat with some of my girls, eating "finger chips" and talking about the little things. Two girls insisted on giving me packs of chocolate biscuit-sticks. It was cute to watch them "argue" over whose were better. I enjoyed being around my students ... God gave me many reasons to be thankful for His mercies today.

6A has been an exceptionally good class. There are two students who can be disruptive, but the rest of the class has sat quietly, ignoring the distractions for the past two days! It's been fun to teach them and I hope I am getting to know them a little more.

After school, Sarah and I taxied home, then went to the corner store for fruit. I was able to listen to a sermon and take some time to think/meditate before we had to prep for our team meal. At 4:30 pm, we walked to A&L's with John and Mary. Lisa made an amazing stirfry with Teriyaki sauce. We had fruit salad on the side and for a special treat, Mary made homemade donuts! Mmmmm Good! A poor internet connection made for a short Skype call. We had more time to visit and talk about the plan for next week when Dave and Lisa will be here.

On another note, I have been missing home a lot lately. It is a slow emotional drain that I don't spend much time thinking about, but creeps up on me suddenly. There are the emails from home that remind me of all that I'm missing out on. I've missed the process of test-driving and buying a new van, going to Caleb's football games, camping out for battle of the bands with lemon meringue pie and hot chocolate, enjoying belly laughs with a house full of boys ... Lord willing, the boys' adoption will through at the end of the month. How I've thought about being there for them! It hurts to think of missing it ... Then there are the little things. Henry using the same sippy cup as Eithen ... the memories go back to Eithen at that age, my mind wanders through his first year with us, his second birthday, and then I stop suddenly, realizing that the next ten months will be blank. I won't remember what Eithen was like when he turned three - if he was reading words, or riding a two-wheeler, or singing songs. I focus on the present until I find myself playing Duplos with Zander just like I did with the brothers right before I left. The brothers and I built a huge staircase that bordered a house with tiny windows (much like a house in Duhok). Next thing I know, I'm watching "The Princess Bride" with Sarah and repeating all of the great movie lines that Hannah and I memorized. "Stop that rhyming now, I mean it!" "Anybody want a peanut?" The days move on, but every so often I am caught in the past and the longing to be back with my family. This email came from Mom just as I was finishing the blog:

Yesterday for nap Eithen wanted to bring his 'sissy book' (Guess How Much I Miss You) to nap.  He wanted to "read" it to me, but after the first page of your voice, he got very serious.  He turned to snuggle into me and made motions that I was to continue for him.  When I turned the page he said, "where that big bear doe-ing?" "Why he over the water?" (the picture shows the bigger bear on the far side of the river and the baby is watching from the nearside.)  I said, "Going to Iraq." "oh" E said,  Then after a long pause..."dat me (the little bear) and dat sissy (big bear across the river).  Then we finished the book and the last page the big bear and the little bear are back together and cuddling close. Eithen put me in the position of the big bear and made himself in the position of the baby bear and said, "dat me and sissy agether."

October 3rd and 4th: Ending Phase 1 with a Holiday

Wednesday, October 3rd:
Woke up a little after 4. I went back to sleep until 6, but not until after they finished the morning call to prayer (sometime after 4:45).

There was a nice breeze blowing as Mary, Sarah, and I walked to school. The curriculum coordinator came into my classes to get after the students who haven't turned in any homework. It is not the method I prefer, but some of the kids seem to need a third-party authority figure telling them that homework is important. As Mr. B walked in the room, several of the students had Coke cans on their desks. (I let them drink in class as long as they aren't disruptive.) Mr. B made each student on my "missing assignments" list stand up, then asked them why they hadn't completed their homework, "What are you here for? ... To drink Pepsi?" I could have laughed if I hadn't been so disappointed in my students. Mr. B was gracious enough to let me be the "good cop." He told me in front of the students that it would be fine with him if I gave them zeroes on all missing assignments, but gave me the option to accept assignments until the end of school that day. I told him I would like to let them have a little more time (I really just meekly nodded my head, afraid to say anything that might break the stern tenure of his lecture.) After he left, I told the students that when they get in trouble, I feel like I am in trouble too. I want them to do well, but I can't make them turn in their homework (though I'm sure many would appreciate it if I would just do their homework for them!) Several students piped up, "Miss, you DO help us! We just don't do the work." That was encouraging. I don't want them to think this is an "us versus them" situation. I hope they will see that I am there as their teacher and advocate.

Though the classes were a little chatty today, we made it through the lesson and I gave them their phase averages. Both 5th grade classes responded well to Mr. B's reprimand. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, I still had students who didn't turn in any of the assignments. I went to each class to make sure students who completed the assignments could turn them in.

I graded papers in the teacher room until school let out. It is fun to pick up on pieces of the teachers' conversations. They love answering questions and I am always able to learn a lot. Talked to a few of my students on the way out. I took a taxi to the chicken man at the corner of our street, so we could have a chicken for dinner tonight. After I got home and had a bite to eat, I shredded the chicken to help Sarah make a recipe she picked out - chicken tetrazzini. It got really hot in the kitchen with the stove and oven on! Squeezed in some grading during the half hour before our team meeting. At 5pm, we ate a delicious meal together. Sarah's main dish was a hit. Lisa made sauteed vegetables and garlic bread. For dessert Mary made All-American Apple Pie! We had a good Skype call, albeit short due to a late start. We had a fun time together as a team, teasing each other and breathing a unified sigh of relief as we anticipate a weekend away. We leave for Erbil tomorrow after school ... looking forward to American Burger, shopping, a possible coffee shop trip, and a fun roadtrip together.

After the Skype call, I went home and graded more papers. Finished off the gradebooks and sent them to Mr. B with a grateful heart. I've been praying a lot this week that I wouldn't get bogged down with all the grading that comes at the end of the phase. God blessed the work and it wasn't nearly as tiresome or lengthy as I thought it would be.

As I close this entry, the mosquito count is over 30 in the last 24 hours!

Thursday, October 4th:
It was muggy this morning as we walked to school. Lisa joined us since it is one of her days to teach art. She told us about her lesson for the day and the art project she worked on to prepare. Then Mary mentioned how she had watched the lecture she is reading to her class today (the videos are part of her curriculum, but there aren't any TVs in the classrooms yet). It was amusing to think of a snapshot featuring our lesson planning methods ... Lisa bent over an art project, Mary scribbling notes as she watches a lecture, Sarah reading a book and writing notes in the margin, me with an open math book on my lap researching learning styles on the computer.

Since phase grades were due today, I told my kids they got to spend their period giving me a grade! They filled out a teacher evaluation, marking "always," "sometimes," or "never" for statements like "Miss Helen comes to class prepared," "Miss Helen uses good examples." They also answered questions like, "what could Miss Helen do differently in class to make it better?" Though some of the students didn't really understand the purpose and kept trying to find the "right" answer, most provided constructive feedback. Interestingly enough, the data trend followed my results from the multiple intelligences test. More math games, more jokes in class, more math songs (I sang "10 little monkeys jumping on the bed" as an example of a "some went away" problem) reflected their musical, kinetic learning styles. I asked the students to also tell me their favorite thing about my teaching, so I would make sure to keep that in mind while making changes based on their feedback. Some of my favorite comments: "your examples are cool, funny, smarty," "when you laugh," "she work hard a lot," "your sensitivity." One student even told me,"when you don't go through all the problems and you make sure we understand the lesson."

Feeling generous (or at least tired of grading), I wrote "Happy Thursday" on the board and didn't assign any homework for the weekend as long as they could stay focused on the teacher evaluation. They like the "dashes on the board" game, where each time they get noisy, I fill in a dash, which is one letter closer to spelling out the homework assignment. In my sixth grade classes, I added that they didn't have any homework since Miss Julie (their lit teacher last year) had her baby. The kids were really excited, "can we skip our math lesson and visit Miss Julie in America to see the baby?" :) 

 

My breaks were filled with excitement. I was exhausted by the time I got home. During one break, a teacher and student got into a fight. After the principal got involved and sent the student away, I had to keep him (one of my 6th graders) from going back in. It was pretty tense in the teacher room for awhile. During the next break, I went to Sarah's class to make sure she didn't need me to sit in and help with discipline. As I walked in the door, John was bent over a student that had passed out on the floor. While John took him to the nurse and Sarah got the class organized, I started administering the quiz for John's students. John came within a few minutes and I went to the nurses station to check on the student, Chris. After getting some more information from Chris, we realized that another student had hit him on the head with a textbook in a moment of anger. Interrupted Sarah's class to get the student and finally worked out the situation. It made for a long day!

I don't know if I've mentioned him before, but the man who runs the snack shack is someone I hope to remember from the school. He is the principal's son. I think he has a slight mental disability. The students will sometimes tease him about it, so I have tried to be extra friendly. When the students are throwing money in his face, demanding their daily quota of chips, candy, and soda, I stand at the window, reminding them to wait their turn and say, "Supas" or "Thank you." The "snack guy" is always very patient with the kids. He often tells me, "No miss. No money" when I try to buy a snack. He always has a smile on his face, even when he is running around the garden picking up the empty pop cans and candy wrappers. His enthusiastic and untiring servitude reminds me what I ought to be to the students as well.

I stayed until the end of school to grade papers, then talked with some of my kids as they headed for home. One of my students from last year came up to me (in front of all the parents and drivers, which is unusual for the boys) and gave me a HUGE hug. That was a great ending to my school week!

On the walk home, I picked up drinks and snacks for our road trip. All my things were packed, so Sarah and I visited as we waited for our ride. I loaded up the van with mixed feelings. Even though I wouldn't see my kids over the weekend anyway, I was sad to think I would be "leaving" them.

We picked up A, L and the kiddos around 3:30 and started our adventure to Erbil. As always, it was fun to be with the crew. We had snacks, shared stories and started a quote book. For the first time ever, I heard Mary complain about driving too SLOW! (The driving here is fast and at times hazardous. we almost got in an accident twice.) Anyway, just outside Erbil they have their city landfill. The smell was awful and enough to make all of us wish we could fly through that section of the road.

Once in Erbil, we drove straight to American Burger for dinner. it was delicious. Unfortunately, several of us had upset stomachs afterwards. Guess we're not used to greasy American food anymore. The SGI family (K, K and their two daughters) working at CSM in Erbil met us for dinner. Afterwards, we taxied to the house and got settled in.

September 25th and 26th: Trial and Error -or- Learning Lessons the Hard Way

Tuesday, September 25th:

Mary, Sarah and I took a taxi to school since we weren't sure if our escort was picking us up again, and we waited until 8:15 for him to arrive (apparently we don’t need protection anymore).  :) My first class was not very good. One of the students wouldn't sit still during the lesson and refused to stay outside for five minutes. I told him to go to the principal and tell him that he could not behave in class. Five minutes later, he was back with principal and it turned into a “he hit me first” and “it wasn't my fault” drama. The principal ended up telling everyone to sit in their seats and then left. It was frustrating. What I look to as my last resort seemed to have no effect. In my next class, I had a student, S, pull the exact same stunt. Since they had their 15 minute break afterwards, I took S with me to my 6^th grade class. It turns out his cousin is in that class (and also happens to be the student who was held back and is doing extraordinarily well.) They sat together, but after a little while, the cousin complained that S was bothering him. As I directed S to another seat, S muttered something in Kurdish. The class gasped. At first, I didn't think anything of it, since S does this to me all the time in our 5^th grade class. I usually ignore it since the other students will only tell me, “He said a bad word, Miss” and then laugh. My older students were not laughing though. They said he called me a bad name. Two of the boys said they would take him to the principal. I let them go, hoping that the principal would believe them, but not thinking anything would happen after the scenario in 5B.

When they came back, they told me that the principal had suspended him. I didn't get the whole story, but I hoped they had accurately represented what had happened in class. It bothered me for quite awhile after class since I worry that the administration will think I am complaining about every little issue that arises. I am trying to handle classroom discipline on my own, but not sure how far to let problems go. Anyway, we had a good class afterwards and I was able to stay through the break to explain problems to some of the students.

6A went well. We were able to get through the material and everyone seemed to understand. Sometimes I think it is easier to explain things the second time around. Other times, I think I explain it better, but they don't necessarily follow since the explanation is shorter.

Graded papers in the teacher lounge until school let out at 2:30pm. I was able to chat with students as they left. The school gave Sarah and I two more bins so we could use them for a makeshift couch. As I was carrying them out, two of my students offered to help. I am really thankful for "my kids" - I even find myself loving the ones who cause so much grief in class. Class wouldn't be half so interesting without them ;)

I took a taxi home, then Sarah and I put together our "couch." We ate popcorn and watched a movie just to enjoy our accomplishment. Graded papers, wrote the quiz for tomorrow, then headed for bed.

Wednesday, September 26th:
We walked to school this morning - first time this week! I had to make copies and ended up waiting in the copy shack for ten minutes. I was able to practice my Assyrian a little - I say a word, and then they pronounce it right back at me ... exactly the way I said it! :) Well, not exactly, but sometimes it seems I never get "close enough."

My first class went well, especially since we had a quiz and I took off points if they talked. Unfortunately, when I wrote one students name on the board, he left and got the principal. He insisted that he was only talking because the student behind him was calling him bad names. There are four boys that consistently tattle on each other and I'm not sure how to handle it. I've told them to bring it to me after class, but by then it isn't an issue. Of course, they have to turn it into a disruption in the middle of the class. At one point, three of the four boys had left (two to get to the principal, unbeknownst to me, and another to the bathroom). The class was unbelievably attentive and we got a lot of work done. Unfortunately, the two students came back with the principal. The principal could tell I was surprised to see him and asked if I had given permission for the students to get him. I told him no, hoping that he would realize the students are taking advantage of my lack of Kurdish and dragging him in unnecessarily. He scolded them and they were better after that. I ended up giving the rest of the class an extra point on their quiz for being so attentive. Still wondering how to deal effectively with my students when they go to the principal without permission...

The rest of my classes were fairly uneventful. I gave a quiz in each one. Because I take away points instead of writing X's on the board, I don't have to worry about losing my break. :) I ended up spending it with the students, giving them their phase averages and telling them which assignments they've missed. (It turns out that the student who called me a bad name wasn't suspended. He was in class today, but more subdued.)

Sarah and I met with the curriculum coordinator right after Sarah's last class. It was a short meeting about grade books and class attendance. Afterwards, we walked down to the vegetable den. We bought an "asberry" or fruit slushy, which involved a lot of pantomime in order to figure out the flavors. I got nectarine and Sarah got strawberry. Next, we got some fruit for team meeting. Again, this involved some pantomime. We wanted to get watermelon, but they were all too big. Then we tried some grapes but they had seeds. I figured out the name for seeds, then asked if they had some without the seeds. Apparently, Iranian grapes are seedless, but the Kurdish ones aren't. Bought some anyway, along with a kilo of oranges and a kilo of green apples. On the way home, we went by the DVD store to exchange a "na bashe" (not good) disc, and then picked up a new internet card. It turns out that our internet is either good for 45GB or one month, whichever comes first. On the 20th, I got a message saying we needed to recharge. Even though it was 5 days before the end of our month, I bought a new card, figuring that this is Kurdistan and the dates were off. It lasted for two days, then I got a message telling me I needed to recharge again. Turns out our month does end on the 25th and we only get 10GB between the time we use up our 45GB and the start of the next month. A teacher at the school explained all of this to me, so we waited until today to buy a new card. Anyway, Internet is back up and running and we are connected with the rest of the world.

Graded papers, then Sarah and I cut up fruit for our team meal. Mary made pizza casserole, which was delicious! We had fruit on the side, then Lisa (actually Andy) made apple crisp for dessert. Ahhh, the taste of FALL! We had a good Skype call, then chatted about how we want to organize our team time. We ended up deciding to meet another day of the week for more focused spiritual discussion and use Wednesday nights for team meal and Skype. We will see how it works on Monday ...

Finished grading, then off to bed. It took a long time for me to fall asleep last night because a mosquito kept bothering me. I finally killed it, but was up again at 1am to kill another one that had bitten me several times. Again at 3am, I found their triplet (or as Sarah dubbed him, the resurrected mosquito) and managed to exterminate it. Realized that I could use this as an exercise to pray expectantly and asked the Lord to put it to an end. I was able to read and pray each time I got up, so the night wasn't wasted, although I did get very little sleep. Pushed back my wake-up until 6:30 for the usual morning routine. Hopeful that tonight will be more restful.

September 19th and 20th: Teaching Musical Learners and Learning from Teachers

Wednesday, September 19th:
I compiled the Multiple Intelligences scores into an Excel spreadsheet (I can't help it, my dad is an accountant). The results were revealing. The majority in each class are musical and kinetic learners. The next highest is linguistic, which makes sense considering they all know several languages in a setting where storytelling and verbal communication are very important to their culture. The scores are much lower for spatial learning, which correlates with the low emphasis placed on art. Lastly, most of my students are very interpersonal, but not necessarily intrapersonal. While all of this ties to their cultural setting, I am realizing that it will not be an easy task to apply the information to my teaching style (or Saxon's). Praying for guidance as I strive to become a better teacher and for the strength to take up this challenge.

I had a quiet day with the kids. We actually worked through the entire lesson. I found myself using normal teacher methods to manage the classroom - calling on kids who were talking to answer the question, asking if their name was "Roj" when someone other than "Roj" answered the question ... all those things we remember our teachers doing to us (and being annoyed by).

After school, we took a taxi home. Sarah was kind enough to suggest it since I wasn't feeling well. I ate a bag of nuts at the break and immediately afterwards, my throat got really tight, and I felt tired and yucky. My last class was a little harder because I wasn't feeling well, but we made it through. The walk would have probably worn me out, but the taxi ride provided a little bit of rest. I took some vitamins and allergy medicine, then graded papers for awhile. Later, I looked up some math quotes for ideas to direct classroom discussion.

"Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas." Albert Einstein

"To all of us who hold the Christian belief that God is truth, anything that is true is a fact about God, and mathematics is a branch of theology." Hilda Phoebe Hudson

"Music is the pleasure the human mind experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting." Gottfried Leibniz

At 4:30, John, Mary, Henry, Sarah, and I left for Andy and Lisa's. We picked up some ice cream on the way for dessert. Lisa made Mexican, which made me VERY happy! We had Mexican chicken wraps with rice and beans on the side. For dessert, Sarah and I whipped up our own concoction - a combination of sopapillas and a dessert I've had at a Mexican restaurant. We put a scoop of ice cream in a piece of Lebanese flat bread, rolled it up, and drizzled honey and cinnamon on the top. It was actually really good!

After our Skype call, I wasn't feeling very well and neither was Mary (she is still fighting off the bug that has been going around their house.) We shared prayer requests and prayed with each other, then took a taxi home. I was in bed by 8:30pm, but had a hard time falling asleep...

Thursday, September 20th:
The Internet is finally working again! I had to uninstall everything and then we had to stop and buy another recharge card (5 days early) but everything seems to be working fine now. It is a blessing to have had Internet so consistently up until now. Last year it was more irregular. I definitely did not take it for granted the way I have this year.

During my break at school, it was confirmed - I made it on the Assyrian channel last night at 8pm. Some of the teachers told me this morning and reassured me that it would be repeated later :P

Despite my new-found celebrity status (I don't think my kids actually know), my classes went well. I gave them a quiz at the beginning of class. In my sixth grade classes, I read the questions aloud and told them I would only repeat each one three times. Thankfully, the kids were very attentive and I didn't have to stretch it to four. I really enjoyed my time in the classroom. Even though I still had to be firm, I realized their need to make noise and hum while they were working and didn't get as frustrated. The first class is doing a little better with being respectful and I've realized that pulling one boy out from the long break is more effective than a group of them. I had a good conversation with one boy today (the one who got in trouble two days ago) and hope to build individual relationships that will lead to better and better behavior (*etc.) While I was talking to him, one of my sixth graders (the one who was watching me so attentively and was a nightmare in all of his classes last year) came up to the student and said, "Why are you so bad for her when she is the best teacher?! How can you do that?!" I just stood there quietly and thanked the Lord for such a turnaround in this student. Everyone was warning me about him (and I had seen his disobedience at the soccer clinic). I prayed for him a lot before he was finally put in my class. I was concerned that he would be disgruntled after not passing the re-take (and he really did try his best on it), but God has blessed in ways I didn't expect. The younger students imitated his rebelliousness last year, so I am hopeful that he will have a positive influence with them this year.

Sarah and I stayed late to grade papers. I got to talk to some of my students as they waited for their drivers. We got home about 3pm. During our team debrief last night, I realized that the last few weeks have flown by. Without time to process recent events and a constant struggle to keep up with the needs of my students, I've been feeling behind and discouraged. After team meeting and again during devotions, I asked the Lord to help me make my time purposeful. This afternoon, He answered prayer. I was able to grade all of the quizzes and homework papers while listening to a lecture, write a couple emails, then spend time in prayer and afterwards journal for a little bit. The lecture looked at God as our intimate friend and challenged me to go to God expectantly. I was able to drop my feelings of inadequacy and felt much more refreshed and thankful after time with Him.

We have discovered Tangerine Fanta here and it actually tastes a lot different than Orange Fanta. It was a fun treat to have this afternoon.

At 7pm, Sarah and I met some of the other teachers at Zeri Park. My bershe (Helen) is leaving for Turkey at the end of the month, so I wanted to say goodbye to her before she left. She teared up when we greeted each other and there were some sad moments throughout the evening. I am thankful to know that we will meet again in eternity if not on this earth. At the park, we rode on a flight simulator, which looked like an airplane on the outside, but a roller coaster on the screen. It was a pretty bumpy ride! Afterwards, we ate some ice cream, walked around, and talked until about 8pm. All six of us piled into a taxi and went to the Assyrian hall for Dumballah! I came close to winning :) but in the end, just enjoyed being with friends. They tried to show me how to snap my index fingers together (it is something I've only seen here), and I learned some new Assyrian words. By 11pm, I thought I'd made it through the evening without drawing extra attention to myself. Then, I caught part of an announcement just as everyone at our table started squeezing my arm and giggling, "They are talking about you." I caught enough to know that they were introducing me as the Japanese girl from America whose cousin is Jackie Chan. Besides the announcement at the end, our time together was refreshing and encouraging. God has been good to provide friends who belong to a part of this culture and are willing to take me into their lives.

September 11th and 12th: Agony and Adventure

Tuesday, September 11th:
I have noticed the last few mornings that the weather is a little cooler. It definitely heats up by the afternoon, but we have had some pleasant walks.

Woke up this morning at 4am to pray, which was in itself an answer to prayer. I was afraid of falling back to sleep, but God kept my mind alert and in addition to the hour of specific prayer and then devotions, I was able to get a lot of work and preparation done for school today.

Unfortunately, my first class was even worse today. They were a little off track, but derailed completely after I tried to have a discussion about why God created math. I made the point that math was given to understand God's creation and explain the patterns we see around us, but I'm not sure anyone was listening at that point (or could hear over the noise). Once I had given four of the boys their third strike, they decided to keep pushing (figuring that there wasn't anything worse I could do.) They continued to talk and make obnoxious noises. I rallied on, solving problems on the board for the students who were paying attention and interested. When the "good" students are focused and engaged, the class period is much better, but it seems that we are quickly overrun by the 11 attention-seekers of the class. Pedro (the one I made a daily progress chart for) has not been doing well these last few days either.

I walked into my next class feeling frustrated and worn out. I am sure they thought I was very stern, but I tried to take notice of each student and think of ways to serve. My 10am class was better, but I noticed a lack of interest among them too. I think the lecture on mastery yesterday made them leery of today's lesson. By the time I got to my 30 minute break, I had a headache and felt like I'd run into a brick wall. Sarah and John expressed similar frustrations with their classes, so it makes me think that spiritual oppression is high right now. [I found out later that God answered my prayer this morning in a very specific way, so I think the enemy was trying to hinder in another area.]

My last 6th grade class did not go very well. Not only did they complain, "Miss, you don't explain the lesson," but they wouldn't listen as I was giving the lesson! I pointed out to them that if they would follow along they could see exactly where I was in the book. To make matter worse, during the last fifteen minutes, four of the boys from my first class had to sit in the classroom as the consequence for bad behavior. I meant to have something for them to work on, but had forgotten in the midst of my frustration and discouragement. After class, I took the boys aside and tried to obtain honest answers as to how we could work together to make their class better. They told me over and over, "Miss, we will be good tomorrow." An older student, who may end up joining my 6th graders if he doesn't pass his re-take final exam, noticed them saying this. He has been watching me the last few days as I've interacted with my students. He is known to be a difficult student, but we got to know each other during the soccer clinic and he has helped me a few times - scolding the younger boys for not listening to me and keeping them from running off. If he does end up in my class, I wonder how his observations of my discipline will affect his behavior.

After school, Sarah and I went to the market where we met up with Lisa and Mary. It was Sarah's first full-length experience in the secondhand section. I know it must have been overwhelming. I was exhausted when we got home and was thankful to take a 30-minute nap. After finishing a lot of my grading and prep work for tomorrow, I was able to Skype with Mom.

I tried to process some of the events of the day, but it was overwhelming to take in every comment and look and misbehavior. I was thankful to go to bed and put the day behind me. Hopeful that tomorrow will be a better day.

Wednesday, September 12th
Got up this morning and packed for my trip to the Assyrian village. I've had to do a lot of prep work (instructions for Sarah, Mary, and Andy who will be subbing for me, grading homework, preparing an activity for them to work on, and writing a test to give on Sunday). I think it is actually harder to miss school for one day than it is to be at school!

During my first class I tried to change things up to see if I could improve classroom management. I assigned all new seats and then gave out stickers to the students who were following procedure and working quietly on their warm-up problems. I was surprised by how much the students wanted to be recognized with a sticker. (Stickers are uncommon here so I'm suppose it is more intriguing than it might be to an American student.) After explaining the lesson, I outlined what the next day would look like. I told them that I expected only their best behavior for Miss Sarah and that she is going to tell me about any misbehavior.

My second class wasn't as motivated by the stickers. It always amazes me how different the two classes are from one another. One student could not stop talking and ended up losing his break. I gave them the same outline for tomorrow and the same lecture about my expectations and how they are to treat Miss Mary. I really hope things go smoothly for Sarah and Mary tomorrow.

In my next class, the split wasn't working, so after they corrected their assignment and I gave a quick explanation of the lesson, I took them outside. There was a nice breeze in the shade. The students gathered around and I explained what they would be doing tomorrow with Mr. Andy. They are eager to learn and I think they will do well on their activity. We went back into class for the last 10 minutes (the split was working again). I explained the next lesson so they would understand how to complete their homework for the weekend. We talked about scales and I told them I needed five examples before they could leave class. They really started to think; the boys were coming up with answers like speedometer and fuel tank. Their eagerness to learn made me excited about teaching them.

During the break I tried to talk to students and check in on the quieter ones. Some of the students turned in their letters (an assignment from the beginning of school). One student wrote, "Miss I like math because when I am doing math I feel like an adult." Another said, "Math is my favorite subject because it is the language of science and the mirror of civilizations." I'm not sure what he meant about the mirror, but he is one of my favorites and always has a math question for me during the break. I can see his eyes light up during the lesson and that makes me happy.

In 6A, we had a good half hour of following procedures and getting work accomplished. When it was time for the 5th graders to lose their long break, I had them sit outside the classroom and copy the sentence, "He who finds wisdom finds a good thing." It kept them occupied and I was able to finish the lesson. Unfortunately, a little 3rd grader kept interrupting my class, kicking over the garbage can outside the door and throwing erasers at the students. I asked him for his name and grade, torn between using up class time and dealing with the distraction. I decided to wait and power-through the lesson. Even though 6A can be difficult, I hope they will do well for Mr. Andy (and I made sure they understood that their behavior with him was very important to me.)

After class, I talked to my fifth graders about what the sentence meant. "Wisdom is taking what you know and using it. You understand how to be good in my class, but you don't do it. If you knew to be good and did it, that would be a good thing!" One of the students chimed in, "Like math, Miss. God created math so we could understand." I was stunned, "Excellent! And did you know, God intended that we use math too." So they were listening! The older student that has been watching me, pointed out that one of the students told me yesterday that he would be good. I pointed out that saying something doesn't mean very much if you don't follow through with your actions. He seems to be taking all of this in, but I really don't know if he is getting anything out of it.

When I dismissed the students to their class, I found the interrupting 3rd grader and told him not to disturb my class again. I think he was shocked that I actually "tracked him down" since they are used to idle threats. On my out, I found Pedro and another student standing in the hallway. The one student wanted to let the principal know that he didn't want to be in 5B anymore. "The other students make fun of me, Miss, and call me names." I told him I was sorry that they treated him that way, but that if he wasn't in the class, it would be a lot harder for me and I wouldn't enjoy teaching as much. He turned and went back to class, but I saw a smile creep across his face. Pedro told me he needed a water (which was true judging by all the sweat pouring down his face), but that he didn't have any money. I took him down to the shop, intending to buy him a water, but the manager (who is very gracious) gave us both a water for free. I talked to Pedro a little bit, hoping he will someday realize that I care about him as an individual, not simply as my student. He told me yesterday that he likes losing his break. I think it is because he'd rather spend time with me than with his peers. Trying to spend more positive time with him, rather than making it a discipline.

When Sarah and I got home, we made dinner for tonight's team dinner and I finished packing my things. My friend is picking me up to go to her village for the weekend. I am not sure what to expect, but I am praying that I will get to know her better at the very least. I know that her family is going to the village for a religious celebration, so we will be going to her church tomorrow morning and then to a party tomorrow night (ironic?) :)

September 5th and 6th: The Purpose Ridden Life

Wednesday, September 5th:
About the last fifteen minutes of class, my first group (5B) started to get noisier and noisier. It reminded me of how rambunctious they were last year and I was thankful we haven't encountered any days like those yet. I passed out "No Homework" passes to two of the students to remind the class to hang in there through this first week of school.

The rest of the day flew by, merging into one big blur. Each class seems to be doing well. More and more students are working quietly when I walk into the classroom. My last class of the day became a bit talkative as well, so I handed out "No Homework" passes there too.

In the afternoon, after grading and a short nap, Sarah and I made fruit salad for tonight's team meal. We met at John and Mary's this week, which meant a much shorter walk for us! Mary made stromboli with veggies and alfredo sauce. Delicious! Lisa made brownies for dessert. Our Skype call with Dave and Lisa was very encouraging. They are thoughtful listeners, providing words of wisdom from their experiences and always pointing us to the One who can meet our needs.

During our team time, we read through John 11. At the end, I was struck by how much I am like Timothy. I have trouble thinking outside my line of reasoning. Jesus was taking them to Lazarus to show them a miracle and the only Timothy saw was death. Over the past two weeks, my focus diverts back to the how's and why's of God's plan. "Lord, this doesn't fit with my plan. So how does this work?" "Lord, I don't see the significance of being here, teaching math, managing a schedule that is too busy for time with my students. So why am I here?" My rebellious spirit refuses to see the miracle. Though I understand this with my mind, my heart can not believe. "Lord, how can I see the miracle?" ... "Delight in Me."

Afterwards, we shared our prayer requests and it was reassuring to know that I am not walking this path alone. The enemy is attacking each of us; while the arrows are shot from the same source, each is tipped with something personal that makes it more suitable to penetrate our individual armor. Thankful for a team that prays together.

The evening devotion seemed to read my thoughts. "Why am I so curious to know the reason of my Lord's providences, the motive of His actions, the design of His visitations? Shall I ever be able to clasp the sun in my fist, and hold the universe in my palm? yet these are as a drop of a bucket compared with the Lord my God. Let me not strive to understand the infinite, but spend my strength in love." -- Delight in the Lord.

Thursday, September 6th:
My first class was a little better today, but still got a little antsy by the end. Yesterday was the first day of solid material and I can tell it gets a little slow about half way through. I think I will need to find a way to "spice it up" in the middle of the lecture.

I got my next class started on their lesson, then at 9:30, I met Lisa (who was also teaching a class) at the copy shack so we could meet the guard and go to the residency office. Surprisingly, everyone and everything was ready to go and we were off within a few minutes. Lisa and I picked up Andy and the kids and texted John and Mary so they could meet us at the R.O.

The R.O. didn't take too long (relatively speaking). By noon we had been shuffled among three different rooms, the kids had nearly eaten all the snacks, and the adults were about ready for naps ... paperwork in hand we left the R.O., hoping to get our blood work out of the way as well. According to Kurdish custom, it probably would've waited until another day, but through a couple phone calls, we managed to load up in our vehicles and take a trip to the "blood bank" (it is really some sort of medical facility, but we've only ever gone to get our blood drawn. Because of that, I can't think of it without images of blood stains on the floor and bloody cotton balls coming to mind.) Anyway, we were in and out within a matter of minutes, well 15 to be exact! It was truly amazing! Sarah will have to wait two months, but we were glad that the families with children won't need to come back.

Went back to the school to sign some paperwork (and collect homework), then Sarah and I took a taxi to the secondhand appliances/dishware store. It was closed, but we went later in the evening when it was cooler and Sarah was able to find three neat mugs. For dinner, we shared a grilled chicken with John and Mary. We have noticed that there is a new trend here where they fillet the chicken and grill it over a wood fire. The restaurant at the corner of our street sells them, so I walked up and got one to-go. It was really flavorful and came with yummy bread!

This afternoon, (after I graded papers and took a little nap), I tried to sort through some of my thoughts. I am starting to realize that EVERYTHING is different from last year. My roles have changed (I am no longer the newbie, but the one responsible to know how to get around); my job has changed; the way I structure my time is different; even the teacher lounge at school is in a different room! One lesson I am learning is to delight in the Lord despite the circumstances. Secondly, all the things I might look to for comfort (which don't seem like much to begin with) are being stripped away. Again, the Lord is teaching me, "Delight ONLY in Him." And last, if I could just know why I am here ... what is my purpose? Timothy thought his purpose was to die. I am sure it was a long walk to Bethany for him. If only he had understood what Jesus intended to do. Timothy couldn't see beyond the physical, but he was about to witness a miracle that would show him the glory of God! Like Timothy, I strive for a purpose that is laid out in the physical. But God is directing me to walk in His light, letting go of my purposes that I might glory in Him! Is it possible that delighting in God will be enough? Not sure that I am ready to find out...

I was able to Skype with Mom, Caleb, Eithen, and Jaden. Mom told me that Eithen was listening to the book I had recorded for him just before we started Skyping. The book begins, "Do you know how much I miss you?" Eithen responded, "Yes ... sigh." At the end of the book, he got close to the speaker and whispered, "Can I come in there with you?" Pause. "Okay. Well I love you lots!" Apart from missing him even more, it made my heart happy to know that I am not forgotten.

August 28th and 29th: Settling In

Tuesday, August 28th:
It's hard to believe how quickly I've adjusted to being here again. I am back on my morning routine - up by 6 for devotions, followed by a workout video, then preparations for the day. This morning I had the special treat of Skyping with my family. It is the first time I've "seen" them in over a week. We had arranged to talk at 8:30pm PST. Mom was cleaning up dishes when Dad said he would put the boys to bed.
Mom: "What time is it?"
Dad: "8:30"
Mom: "Oh! We are supposed to Skype with Sissy!"
In a flash, Eithen is off the couch and bolting up the stairs, "We a talk to Sissy on the 'puter! We a talk to Sissy on the 'puter!"

It was fun to see everyone. They were hanging all over Dad's chair to get a look at the screen, doing somersaults, and taking me around the house to see their new room arrangements. It was a great way to start the morning, though it made me miss the regular family routine.

At 8:15, Lisa came over and the four of us ladies walked to school together. That was a fun change from last year since my schedule was so different from everyone else's that I wasn't able to walk with them.

My first group in the morning is the class that was formerly called 4B. Yep, the "rowdy" group! Of course, having them first thing in the morning may prove to be a blessing. There were only a handful this morning, so it was difficult to tell if things will be different from last year. (School won't officially start until all the students are in attendance, which is apparently optional during the first few weeks.) I had them start by writing down three goals for the year. I told them that if they meet those goals at the end of the semester, then they will earn a reward from America. Instead of viewing school as something imposed on them, I hope they will learn to invest in their education and push themselves to do more than what is expected of them.

My second class was 5A (previously 4A). We have two new students in the class and I am really excited to have them there. After the class wrote out their goals, I shared my own goals with them: become a better teacher, help my students succeed, prepare them for the next grade level. The eyes of the new students lit up and they were soaking in every word. They seem like bright students and eager to learn. I hope their desire to learn will have an influence on the rest of the class. Next, I discussed my class rules:
1. Try your best
2. Be respectful
3. Listen

And my discipline policy (X - warning, XX - leave the class until ready to follow the rules, XXX - lose your long break). It is fun to start at the beginning of the school year since I can lay out my expectations and establish my own policies.

Immediately following I teach 6B. They are a fun group of students (Julie taught them Literature last year) and I am looking forward to working with them. After a half hour break, I teach 6A. I substituted for them last year and worked with some of them during the soccer clinic. We went through the same things I had discussed with the 5th graders. They are better listeners, so it didn't take quite as long to go through everything.

At noon, I was done teaching. Sarah didn't have very many students in her last class, so she ended early and we taxied home together. The afternoon mostly consisted of lesson planning and trying to stay cool. The city electricity went out again for an hour, so we had our fans on and lots of cold water. In the evening, around 6:30, we went to the art supply store called Zanest. Sarah got a taste of the market at night when it is ten times busier (cooler though too). I tried to look at it through her eyes, going back to January when I went to the market for the first time. It seems like a lifetime ago!

When we got back, we watched a movie with John and Mary. It was a relaxing way to end the evening, even though it meant another late night!

Wednesday, August 29th:

It was already pretty warm when Mary and I started our walk to the school; part way there, the school's maintenance man and his little daughter stopped to give us a ride! So thankful!

Had a very encouraging time in all of my classes. I outlined the procedures for our class (how to: start with a warm-up assignment while I collect homework, ask a question, ask to leave, organize their binder, etc.) Each class seemed attentive and eager to follow through correctly. It will be interesting to see which group picks up on them first (and whether or not I can remember to enforce the procedures!) :P

After school (which is still in "preparatory week") Sarah and I walked home for more lesson planning. I got a lot accomplished and it is good to feel motivated and implement new methods that were too difficult to start half way through the year. I am hopeful (and praying) that the consistency will help improve behavior this year. Sarah and I made dessert in the late afternoon for our team meeting. We made no-bake peanut butter bars, which are always a good standby.

Team night provided much needed refreshment in the midst of a busy week. We shared a wonderful meal together. Lisa made a salsa chicken spaghetti casserole, which was the most flavorful dish I've tasted here (as I recall) and Mary made a great salad with Ranch dressing. Andy shared a devotion about the blood of Jesus Christ. The verse given to me to read was Hebrews 13:12 "Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate." God's Word jumped from the page and spoke directly at me. Since I started packing to come here, I've struggled with leaving my family and friends to live a life that is so different from theirs. It was hard over the summer to relate in our experiences. As a team we have adopted a new acronym - FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out. I definitely have FOMO. It is hard to live so far away, knowing that my brothers are going to keep growing up, my sister is going to keep moving on with her life, and my parents will continue going through their daily routine ... without me! I want to share every moment with them - taking my brother to football practice, sympathizing with my dad over his number-crunching, helping Mom grocery shop, and cuddling up for the bedtime stories. Tonight's Scripture reminded me that Jesus suffered OUTSIDE the gate that I might be sanctified with His own blood. His suffering took Him from the heights and glories of Heaven to a lowly manger to a scornful people to the shame of the cross. May God make me willing to suffer (in a small way by comparison) outside the gate of my family and physical comforts that others would be sanctified.

May 29th through 30th (Days 142-143): SURPRISE!

May 29th:
Got really sick last night ... not a great way to start a 48 hour trip back to the States. Oh yes, SURPRISE! When the administrators decided to end the school year early, they also told us we could go home early. So about a month ago I booked new tickets. I decided to keep it a surprise. Ten days ago I learned that Mom was planning to go out of town, so I had to let the cat out of the bag and tell her. But we decided to keep it from the rest of the family...

At 11am a bus came to take the remaining 8 members of our team to Erbil. We packed it full with all of our bags and headed off to the airport. Unfortunately neither Andy nor I were feeling well, so there wasn't too much excitement about going home beaming from our faces. Zander was pretty happy though - "When are we going to get to America?" Andy, Lisa, the kiddos and I took a flight to Frankfurt, which left at 4:30pm. Mary, John, and Henry's flight to Istanbul left early the next morning, so they stayed with fellow SGI'ers in Erbil.

At the Erbil airport:

Had a good flight to Frankfurt, where I met up with my "German sister" from the high school exchange program. Her mom drove us to our hotel where Andy and Lisa put the kiddos to bed. Katze, her mom, and I went downtown for some dinner. It was great to see them (even though I wasn't completely coherent.) Crashed into bed at the hotel around 1am Duhok time.

May 30th:
Got up this morning (later than I had planned ... once again, God teaching me that I need to depend on Him) and caught the shuttle with Andy and Lisa to the airport. Andy and Lisa's flight ended up being delayed, so we went over to the kids' play area for an hour. At 8am, it was time for me to catch my flight and head through security, so we said our goodbyes. It will be strange to live life without them after our lives were so intertwined for the last 5 months.

Made it through security relatively quickly, then boarded the plane a little after 9am. Met someone from Turkey while waiting at the gate ... it is funny how easy it was to identify him as someone from "my neck of the woods." Before I couldn't have distinguished between someone from Turkey and someone from another part of the Middle East. It was long flight to San Francisco and though I still wasn't feeling well, God gave me the grace to endure. I didn't eat a lot, but was thankful not to be dealing with anymore nausea.

Air movement across the wing of the plane:

Landed in San Francisco a little ahead of schedule. Had to go through customs, re-check my bag, get my boarding pass and go back through security. Thankful to have a good spirit through the entire process - a smile definitely helps speed things up! When I got to the gate, I learned that there was an early flight going to Medford. Even though I've never been able to switch flights, I thought I'd ask. The attendant told me he could get in trouble for putting me on a flight different from my checked bag ... a smile and a stick of gum later, my name was on the standby list! By the time I was able to call Mom and tell her that an earlier arrival might be possible, I had been assigned a seat number!

Arrived in Medford right on time. I called Dad as I was taxiing down the runway. "Hi Dad. You know how you wanted to Skype today? Well I thought I'd call you instead." Pause. "Where are you? Are you okay?" "Well ... I'll tell you where I'm not. I'm not in Iraq ... I'm not in Frankfurt ... I'm not even in San Francisco ... I'm in Medford!" "I'll be right there."

As I deplaned and waved to the observation deck, I saw excited movement and heads disappear back inside the airport. I moved faster toward the glass doors. Eithen stood on the other side. I could tell he recognized me when he tried frantically to push through the doors. I couldn't get all of the brothers into my arms fast enough. Grandpa, Grandma and my best friend Jessica met me at the airport too. Went to dinner and then Bible Study. It felt good to be back home with my church family. I was glad I could go on my first night back. Picked up my bag at the airport on the way home. So thankful for a safe trip home and a happy reception.

During the last forty-eight hours, God has given me many reasons to thank Him. It's even been apparent that the intense stomach pain has been a blessing, keeping me in dependence on God. As I settle back into a comfortable environment, my heart's desire is to continue to walk in the strength of the Lord and be kept from a false sense of security. It has been a delight to see God orchestrate events and circumstances for His glory and for my good even as I walk in dependence on Him.

*****

Since being home, here are a few of the things I have enjoyed:
Surprising my sister in Portland
Helping Eithen during his sleep study
Fellowship with church family
Eating steak!

Some of the things that have been an adjustment:
Understanding every conversation, lyric, and intercom announcement
Using a seat belt regularly (and riding in a car multiple times per day)
Training my body to complete everyday tasks (that 2 second pause before releasing toilet paper into the toilet bowl instead of throwing it away)
Shopping on a Friday morning

During the summer I won't be blogging as regularly, but I will try to keep the blog updated with some of the highlights. Thanks be to God for His goodness during these past five months! I left feeling self-sufficient with a need to prove myself. I have come home humbled, realizing that it took a trip halfway around the world to show me my utter dependence on God. How sweet to find that in our weakness, His strength is made known; that in our nakedness, He stoops to cover us; that in our failings, He is our All!

May 23rd through 24th (Days 136-137): Time With Friends

May 23rd:
No school again today as the students are supposed to be "studying" for their final exams. In the morning Mary, Lisa, and I went to Dan and Julie's and helped clean out the house (a little, compared to everything that Dan and Julie have had to do). I cleaned off the windowsills, which get pretty dusty around here. I also killed a few spiders while I was at it! Mary and Lisa helped clean out the kitchen. When I got home, I ate some lunch, then took a nap. I've been feeling pretty exhausted (emotionally and physically) the last few days.

At 3pm, Julee and I went to the orphanage. They are all getting ready to go to their villages for the summer, so this was our last week with them. It was really hard for me to say goodbye to the girls. We didn't go to their bedroom as we normally would, but sat in the main room with all the older women looking on. I became the center of attention, so it was hard for me to talk to them. I wasn't sure what to say, and had to pray several times for the Lord to strengthen me and help me focus. One of the girls even commented that I looked unhappy. I tried to explain (and Julee helped translate) that I was just sad to say goodbye. As we left, the girls walked us to the door and we were able to be our usual selves. They told me not to be sad (which brought a smile to my face). I told them that, God willing, I would see them in three months.

Julee dropped me off at Andy and Lisa's. They had visitors, so I helped with Zephie a little. Lisa wanted me to come for dinner to "repay" me for subbing for Andy. Definitely no need to "repay" me, but I was happy to enjoy their company and a nice meal. After dinner, they walked me to Helen's house. (She is another art teacher at the school. We call each other "Bershe" because we share the same name with the same pronunciation!)

Helen, Nancy, Helen's sister, and I went to Dream City. We like to call it "Mini Mini Disneyland." Another teacher from school and her two sisters met us there. It was nice to hang out with all of them outside of school. We had a really fun time. Afterwards, we got an ice cream at Mazi and walked part of the way home. I was encouraged by our conversation. God is blessing me with many friendships. I trust He will grow them and make them fruitful.

May 24th:
A relaxed morning. It was nice not to be busy for a change. In the afternoon I ran some errands and then we went to dinner as a team. We went to a Greek restaurant called Athena. I had a sampler plate and it was super yummy! It was nice to have something different. The restaurant was really fancy (but I forgot to take pictures.)  :(

Afterwards we went to Andy and Lisa's for ice cream. Dan ended up making us a special treat - affogatos. Espresso over ice cream. How could dessert get any better? Enjoyed time sitting around and talking about the past year / five months. John put together a telescope and we went on the roof to look at the moon.

When we got home (around 10:30pm), the landlord wanted to come over and visit. It was my first time meeting him, his wife, and two daughters. They stayed until 11pm, which is not uncommon here. So glad I had that espresso! :)

May 15th through 16th (Days 128-129): Tough Love and Answered Prayer

May 15th:

Phew! What a day! Got to school and had a nice time looking at pictures of my friend's honeymoon in Turkey. Hurried off to class and gave my fourth graders their math test. It actually went fairly well. Because their comprehension of the test questions has improved, the class stays relatively quiet for the first 10 minutes, and then the questions start flying in. We had a new student in class today - not sure why since school ends in a few days - I ran the class as usual, but seeing the look on her face, I was concerned that my strictness scared her. Hopefully I will have a few days to get to know her and improve first impressions.

At the break, I went next door to the other fourth grade class and made sure they stayed in the room for their break. They weren't pleased and four of the boys decided it would be a good idea to charge at Miss Helen to try to break free. Since most of them are nearly as big as me (and one of them definitely heavier), it was not a fair fight; I'm afraid it also bordered on the ridiculous. Thankfully other teachers made the "escapees" come back. The fifteen minutes seemed like an eternity (and my body is now feeling the pains of being a human barrier).

I had my third grade art class right after and had a fairly good time with them since I promised a "Miss Helen's last day with you / student birthday" party tomorrow if they behaved. I put up five stars on the board and told them that if I had erased all of them by the end of class, the party would be cancelled. By the end I had erased three of the stars. Each lost star prompted the kids to get after each other (which works far more effectively to improve behavior than anything Miss Helen might say.)

From 11 to 11:45 I graded tests so that I would have the final phase grades ready to turn in this afternoon. At 11:45 I dashed back up to the fourth grade classroom to follow through with the punishment laid out yesterday. The other teacher had to teach classes during that time, so I felt responsible to make sure they lost both breaks (inconsistency is far too common here). The kids weren't happy to see me again, especially as it meant they wouldn't get their normal assortment of chips, candy and soda. Apart from the four boys who tried to charge me again, the rest of the class settled down after a few minutes and I "made them a deal." I knew I had to give them their math test and that it would be easier if they went to the garden after finishing the test (so that they wouldn't hang around to cheat or talk), but I didn't want to give them garden time without making them understand why they had lost their break time. I told them that if they wrote apology letters to the other teacher I would let them take their test early and then release them to the garden at the end of my class. The entire class took the deal (the four boys caught on pretty quick) and pretty soon I had a whole stack of apology letters. The test went well, especially since the kids had "simmered down" [memory lane: that was a favorite phrase with one of my high school teachers]. I made each one sit quietly for 5-10 minutes after they finished, then let them go to the garden. (The other teacher was very pleased to get the apology letters...)

Immediately after that class I subbed for one of the teachers who didn't come to school today. I thought I would be teaching a third grade class and had planned to continue with their art lesson. As it turned out, I had the first "rowdy" session again. Two of the boys had already been put "in charge." So I told them to continue "being responsible" while I graded tests. The ironic thing - the boys who had been chosen are some of the worst boys in my class. It was nice to see them have to deal with misbehaving students and get frustrated with "all the noise, Miss!" :) I think we had a bonding moment because of it... Periodically I would look to see which names were written on the board under "good" and let them go to the garden. Funny how the same students that are going to the principal or losing their breaks in my class were the same students that stayed until the last when being evaluated by their peers! I pointed this out to them and asked them to examine why that would be the case.

Finally had a break at 1:45. By then my head was hurting and I was ready to go home. Stayed until 2:30 though so I could talk to the kids, which is always rewarding. Had a nice time with them, then walked home the long way so I could exchange money to pay the rent. Got home and tried to nap, but oppressed with discouraging thoughts. Asked the Lord for help to look to Him for my encouragement instead of burying my head in distractions. God blessed me with a Skype call to Mom and she encouraged me to hunker down behind the shield of faith. I needed that reminder as it is easy for me to grab the negative thought, analyze it, and try to "fix the problem." The fiery darts ceased to hit their mark as I flew to "the Rock that is higher than I. For [He] has been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy."

May 16th:
Had a really FUN day with my classes! I'd asked Mom to pray that the enemy would be restrained, that distractions would be minimized, and that I'd be able to give my kids 110% - God answers prayer!

I played "Math Bingo" with them to review some of the terms we've learned this year. I had them divide up into four teams (which was good math review, since there was a remainder and one of the teams had to have an extra player) then let them go to the garden to find real-life examples of "acute angles," "parallel lines," "symmetry," etc. Once the "rowdy" class caught on, they enjoyed it immensely. They were clamoring all over me to show me their real-life math term and have them sign off  on the matching BINGO square.

The 10:15 class got their party and they were really excited. They brought cake and snacks to share, and we played "Heads Up, 7 Up." The neighboring class heard all our fun and the teacher asked if they could come over. (This is the same teacher who saw me get upset with this group of kids the other day. He is not a very good role model, being immature in his interaction with the kids, so I saw this as an opportunity to be a good example. Asked the Lord for wisdom...) We all had fun playing and it was an enjoyable time.

My next art class got upset that they weren't having a party, but settled down once I explained that on our last day together we would also have a party if they could keep their five stars. They did a great job (until the very end) and I enjoyed taking pictures of them with their sketchbooks. They were the only class to finish their "God Sees Me" books!

Feeling really refreshed by the time the half hour break came around (and so thankful I didn't have to keep any of the classes for the break.) The second math class enjoyed BINGO as well, though some of the kids didn't participate. I actually had 8th graders come up and want to join in, so I gave them their own BINGO card and they had a blast! We caused such a stir that one of the other teachers asked me if I had BINGO cards for vocabulary words ... I told him I would email the template to him so he could create his own.

One more break that went by quickly, then my last 3rd grade art class for the day. I ended up letting them go to the garden since tomorrow is my last day with them and I'm not sure we'll be able to have a party. I have to go to the Residency Office and get my visa extended (and we never know how long that might take).

Left school, then got a text from "Julee" saying she couldn't go to the orphanage, so I called T to let her know. I will definitely try to say goodbye before they leave to their "villages" for the summer. Used the time to make two "grocery" runs, then Stacy and I went over to John and Mary's for dinner. We laughed and talked for a long time afterwards. It was a refreshing time. I also got some nice cuddles from Henry (don't get jealous, Eithen)!

May 9th through 10th (Days 122-123): Discipline, Drama, Diving, and Dummbalah! Oh My!

May 9th:
There was a pesky mosquito in my room last night, so unfortunately I didn't sleep very well!

After I got ready this morning, I discovered that I didn't have my keys with me and Stacy had locked the door behind her when she left. I was essentially LOCKED IN! What a morning! Thankfully, I had my phone, called Stacy and she came back and let me out. A tough way to start the day. Ashamedly, I didn't have a very good attitude about it, but prayed about it on the way to school and asked God to help me have the right perspective, then texted Stacy to apologize for being upset when it was my fault. By the time I got to school, I felt more prepared to start the day in the Lord's strength.

It was a long day, though the 9:15 session had some exceptionally good students ... the parent of one of my rowdiest boys had come in and talked to me (through the curriculum coordinator) yesterday. Her complaint was that her son was not only getting low marks, but I had torn up his homework! I explained that I tore up the piece of paper because he was copying off another student as I walked into the class. He is also the one who is always throwing eraser pieces in class and talking the entire time. The meeting went well and I thanked her for being involved in her son's academics, trying to emphasize that we both wanted to help him, but that it was ultimately up to the student to improve. Today he was much better in class and actually took notes! The two who were supposed to write letters and bring them in today, finished the letters during class. [I am rolling my eyes as I write this ... consistent discipline has been such a struggle. I actually woke up this morning thinking about my discipline policy for next year.]

Today I really tried to focus on the good students. Last night I was thinking about my classes and how I can neglect the "good" students as I discipline the others. I don't want to discourage the "good" kids and I need to make sure to touch bases with them. Tried to talk to each of them after class and make sure they felt like things were going well.

Had the next two art classes back-to-back. I got frustrated with the first group... there was so much talking and wandering around. I spent a lot of time praying afterwards that God would forgive me for yelling at a couple of the boys (as another teacher walked into the room, nonetheless). The second art class was better, but it was hard to find encouragement in the midst of my tiredness.

During the break I could sense the magnitude of my weakness, and at the same time found it hard to rest in the strength of the Lord. Thankfully He hears the smallest cry for help and I was energized to teach the second math class. They were still a tough group ... one of the boys would not stop talking, even after I sent him out of the class for 15 minutes! I wish I could've taken a nap between my classes, but instead I graded papers! Finished off the day with my last art class. There was some drama and I found myself asking the Lord for lots of help.

Hurried home, changed, then met up with "Julee" to go to the orphanage. The older girls whisked me away right off. I showed them pictures of my family, then showed them how to write their names in one-point perspective. I brought some of my markers (from a friend in Germany) and they enjoyed decorating their names. They asked me for my autograph ... some of them wrote their names and then underneath, "loves Helen." So sweet! My Kurdish vocabulary is growing, and it is nice to have a sense that I am really learning something when I am able to hold a conversation using the few words I know. They asked me to sing for them, so I squeaked out "Amazing Grace." It really takes me by surprise - the many opportunities I have to share my love for God with these girls every week!

Came home and struggled to get a few things done. I finally gave in and took a nap at 6pm. Even after a nap though, I was exhausted. I sat down to write this entry and was finding that I didn't have the energy to go on. In the middle of typing, I begged the Lord for help to find the strength I need in Him. His answer came before I could even finish praying. My heart overflowed with gratitude and tears came to my eyes, seeing Him answer prayer so freely. It was exactly the encouragement I needed.

May 10th:
Wow! What a day! So much happened, that to review is like reading a play about my life.

Act I Scene 1

Setting: First 4th grade classroom at 9:15.
Actors: Miss Helen as the teacher. Rowdy class as themselves.
Miss Helen: "You may go to the garden if you can sit still and listen to the lesson."
Rowdy class: "Yeah! Okay, everyone be quiet. Pay attention" ... Students continue shushing each other. 5 minutes later ... "Garden. Oh, right, let's be quiet. Miss, he just threw this at me!"
Miss Helen finishes the lesson and either because she is too tired to keep up with all the shenanigans or because she is such an amazing teacher, she lets the students go to the garden. She goes to the teacher's room for a lot of grading. (The student mentioned yesterday turned in all his previous homework sets - good for him, but lots of grading for Miss Helen!)

Scene fades. Miss Helen grades papers, chats with teachers, and prepares for her next class.

Act I Scene 2

Setting: Garden during the second break (about 12 pm)
Actors: Miss Helen. Fourth grade students playing soccer.

Miss Helen is visiting with some of her students, watching the "football" tournament between the fourth graders. Four of the girls are hovered around her, sharing their snacks and teaching her Kurdish words. Five minutes before the break ends, a younger student rushes up to her, "Miss! Come! He's hurt!"

Miss Helen rushes to the field where one of her students has been hit full on in the face with the soccerball. He is in tears and can barely look up. Miss Helen clears out the other students and then lifts him to his feet. He's okay, but lets Miss Helen guide him up the stairs.

Act I Scene 3

Setting: Second 4th grade classroom at 12:15.
Actors: Miss Helen as the teacher. Prissy, one girl who is excluded because she isn't "as cool" as the others, three active boys. The rest of the class as secondary characters.
During the break, the vice principal has asked Miss Helen if she can substitute for the same class during the 1pm session, which means she will be with them for an hour and a half.

The boy who got hit with the soccer ball remains quiet during the entire class, still stunned from accident. Miss Helen is handing back homework and notices that one of the girls is in tears. She sends her out of the classroom and tells the students to read their texts.
Miss Helen: "When I come back, I am going to pick one of you to teach the lesson. If any of you talk, Connie will write your name on the board, and you will have to go to the principal."
She goes into the hall to ask the student why she has been crying.
Excluded Student (ES): "They say bad words to me, Miss."
Miss Helen brings two of the girls, including Prissy into the hall.
Both sides try to explain themselves away, but in the end, Miss Helen reminds them that they need to be friendly. She keeps Prissy a little longer.
Prissy: "Miss, she never lets us be nice to her. She always cries."
Miss Helen: "Do you remember how you didn't like me at the beginning? I had to try really hard to show you that I liked you, even when I held you to the same standards as the other students. You made it very difficult, but I tried and tried."
Prissy: "Yes Miss, I know. But it's different..." Seeing the look on Miss Helen's face, she mumbles, "I'll try."

Miss Helen returns to the classroom and calls on a couple students to try to teach the lesson. It is fun, but disorder breaks out shortly afterwards. Prissy has apparently forgotten all about trying to be friendly. The "excluded student" answers a question in class, and Prissy mimics and laughs at her. The first hour with them comes to end. Miss Helen continues the lesson into the next session even though the students are expecting to go to the garden. They finally quiet down. Miss Helen lets the class go to the garden, but keeps the three rowdiest boys a little longer and reminds them that they need to be respectful during the lesson. One of them (who was a showoff the entire class period) has to sit on the wall with Miss Helen while the others play. Showoff is actually a cute kid with amazingly thick glasses. Despite the fact that he never listens, he does well in math (when he turns in his homework).

Miss Helen: "You are a fun student, but there is a time to be funny and there is a time not to be. Do you know which is which?"
Showoff: "Funny in the garden, learning in the class." Each phrase followed by his cute little head bob.

After five minutes, Miss Helen lets him go play. The kids play for a half hour, while Miss Helen talks with a fellow teacher. As the students head back to class, Miss Helen notices more tears streaming down "ES's" face. Pulling Prissy aside, she addresses the issue again and tells Prissy that getting along with others, encouraging them, and being a good example is more important than all the math lessons of the year. When Miss Helen gets back to the classroom, she reminds the class that they need to be good for the next teacher or they won't be allowed the privilege next time. As the words are coming out of her mouth, the thought crosses her mind, "Am I really old enough to be teaching these kids anything?" She puts on her teacher face, prays that God will give her the wisdom that she needs and gets ready for the next class.

Act I Scene 4

Setting: 3rd grade art class at 1:45 pm.
Actors: Miss Helen and the 3rd grade students

Miss Helen finally gets the class to quiet down and they work on their art books. She has to send one girl out of class. When Miss Helen goes out to talk to her, there are tears streaming down her face. (This has been a tearful day!) Miss Helen comforts her and asks her if she wants to try to be good in class. The girl returns to class and the rest of the students continue working. Before they leave, Miss Helen makes each student throw away three pieces of garbage (the classrooms are usually trashed by the end of the day).

Miss Helen breathes a sigh of relief as she packs up her things and heads out to visit with the students who are waiting for rides...

Act I Scene 5

Setting: Along the school wall about 2:30 pm
Actors: Various students. Including Eva from the first 4th grade math class.

Miss Helen sits on the wall and visits with students from her classes. They are more than happy to chatter away. Miss Helen notices that Eva's eyes are red and swollen.

Miss Helen: "What's wrong? Have you been crying?"
Eva: Sniffle. Sniffle. "Nothing ... No. Oh Miss."
She comes and sits next to Miss Helen. Miss Helen's arm goes around her.
Eva: "No one likes me. None of the girls will talk to me. The other girl, she kicked me. None of them love me. Nobody loves me."
Miss Helen: "I love you."

As Miss Helen walks home she can't remember a day when there were so many tears or so much drama...

End of Act I

I don't know if it bothers anyone else to hear "Miss Helen" that many times, but it is the true story of my life! Even the teachers call me Miss Helen! No wonder I go to bed hearing little voices saying "Miss, Miss" over and over!

I can't keep going in third person anymore, so I'll just finish off the day as I normally would.

Around 4:30 Didi picked me up at the clothing store on the corner of my street. She was one of the goalies that I "trained" during the clinic. We had some good discussions and we've tried to keep in touch at school. The other day as I was walking by her bus, she called out to me and I could tell right away that something was wrong. I asked her why she seemed sad. She told me that some of her classmates had stopped talking to her. I tried to encourage her and we exchanged phone numbers. The next day I texted her, "Hope you're having a great day!" She responded happily and the next day invited me to go with her to the swimming pool! We decided to go to the pool today after school. She called me several times to make sure I was coming and tell me what I should bring ... obviously excited that I would go with her. I was concerned about being out of my element and with a student, but once again it was an opportunity to go in the strength of the Lord and not rely on my arm of flesh. Anyway, that is the back story. Didi picked me up and her driver took us to Mazi Pool. It is a brand new facility (expensive too - but I asked the Lord to look on it as an investment in His business, without monetary returns, but perhaps an ROI in my relationship with the student.) The pool is exclusively for women, so we were free to wear bathing suits. The water was refreshing after all the dust we've had.

Even though I am not a strong swimmer, I definitely knew more and was more comfortable in the water than any of the other women. Swimming is a relatively new recreation here. I hear a lot of people say that they don't know how to swim. Didi and I had a lot of fun. It was cute when she would tell me what I should do (leave your towel here, etc.) and call me "Miss." She even said, "I've never done anything like this with a Miss before. It is nice to have girl time." I know she doesn't have a lot of support at home, so I pray that I can be a good friend to her. At 8, she went to hang out with her friends, and I caught a taxi home.

Around 9pm, I went to the Assyrian Hall to play BINGO with a teacher from CSM and her family. They call it "dummbahla" and their board looks different from ours. The idea is the same though. Another "out of my element" situations where I had to rely on the Lord to guide me through. It was less awkward than I thought. Nadia's nephew could speak English, and her brother understands a little English too. The four of us sat on one end of the table and talked. The numbers were called in Arabic, so the three of them translated for me. Other than the caller announcing that I was there, and trying to say some of the numbers in English for my benefit, it was pretty low-key.

We left a little after 11pm. By the time I got home, I was ready to crash into bed. Thankful for the Lord's goodness in helping me through the day.

May 1st through 2nd (Days 114-115): Growing Friendships

Forgot to mention yesterday:


1. The lawyer that T works for is our principal's son! What a small world!


2. As Stacy and I walked home from our team meeting last night, I saw something that I dearly wish I could've photographed. Two women were talking towards us. As they passed, the verse flashed through my mind, they are "blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." The first of the two women was rather tall and thin with a patch over one eye; her other was squinted shut. She had a deformity in one leg that made walking difficult. Her light-colored clothing was frayed and barely seemed to cover her long extremities. Holding her hand was another woman who was in many ways a complete opposite. Shorter and wider than her companion, the second woman was dressed in a black burka, an ensemble that completely covers the body, including the eyes. It was difficult to say who was leading whom ... an obvious parallel to the statement Jesus made.


May 1st:
Sent Mom an e-card with flowers for May Day. When we were in elementary school, Hannah and I used to pick a bunch of flowers on the way home from school, leave them on the doorstep, and run away after we rang the doorbell. As we got older and moved out of the house, we would order flowers and have them delivered. Now, I have to send her virtual ones!


Today is Labor Day here, so we didn't have any school. It was a pretty relaxed morning. I really felt the need to talk to Mom, but it was already 10pm their time. I was asking the Lord to help me look to Him for my comfort, when the thought crossed my mind that I ought to check Skype. God is so good to give us the earthly comforts we need ... Mom was online! She was just reading my blog and sending me an email, so we were in the same mindset! Had an encouraging time talking to her. She is always faithful to point me to the Lord and encourage me in truth.


Visited with Mary afterwards. With all the company and sight-seeing we haven't really been able to talk, so it was refreshing to know how she was doing and just get caught up on each other's lives. The enemy is quick to mark the slightest lack of communication and use that to stir up strife. I am so thankful for a team that squelches those attacks right away.


Stacy and I went out in the afternoon and bought ice cream, then brought them back to eat with Mary. (The guys went to Amedy, so it was just us girls). I spent most of the day catching up on emails and preparing the final examination for math.


For dinner, Stacy and I were planning on going to Sarky's, but they were closed. We ended up meeting John, Mary et al at the Tantuni restaurant, where they serve the rolled up sandwiches. Stacy and I had some time to kill before meeting them, so we went to a bookstore and I finally found a map of Iraq in English, an English-Kurdish verb book, and a picture dictionary in English-Kurdish! I've been looking for the last three months for resources like these and just now found them ... better late than never! After dinner, we all walked to a "gift store" about two blocks away - they have a lot of antiques there and some locally made things. Everything is heaped up in piles and crowded onto a few shelves against the wall. There is barely enough room to move around. All six of us piled in and reached over each other trying to find some good deals. Some of the items were pretty expensive, but we dug for the cheaper things and bartered with the owner. When I got back home, I went through my list of gifts to buy ... I think I am officially done! There are a few perishable things I want to get right before I leave, but I'm glad to know that I've found a lot of things I wanted to bring home and share with everyone.


May 2nd:
Funny how a day of doing nothing can make me so tired! A little slow getting up, but after my "cardio kickboxing" routine I was ready to go.

Had a pretty good class this morning ... at least they are improving. [I was telling Stacy how it used to be, "at the beginning of the year there were ten or so boys who were acting up. As soon as I disciplined one, another one popped up shouting and then another standing on his desk. You know it was like that game..." Stacy finished my sentence, "you mean, Whack-a-mole?" We busted up laughing!] Nowadays I really only have to deal with about three of the boys and talk to them after class; the rest I can look at and they'll quiet down.

[I have my window open as I'm writing this and I can hear thunder outside. It was pretty overcast today, sounds like a storm is moving in.]

Today was one class after the other. I had two art classes back-to-back. Both worked on their books really well. The first class had to sit quietly with their arms folded for a couple minutes, but then they got into their drawings and were fine for the rest of class. I was feeling a little discouraged during their session because during the break right before, the vice principal asked me to help at the art show (which I've already been working on with the other teachers). I failed to realize that he was asking for extra help (not asking if I had finished my portion), answered hastily, and immediately regretted not being more patient, especially as I realized that the rest of the teachers in the room were listening. A poor testimony on my part since I know that most of the teachers have little respect for the v.p. already. Another reminder not to walk in my own strength, trying to prove that I am capable! Anyway, I was little more subdued, but my kids never fail to cheer me up.

The 11am class was amazing ... again! I am so thankful for them. I've really seen a turn-around in two of the boys. They were the worst ones and made the class difficult. Now they are my best artists! The two pout-y girls have also come 180 degrees, so the class is pretty mild now.

Had a short lunch break, then off to the 12:15 math class. They are doing really well, even though I have two boys in the back who have turned their desk into a soccer field. By the end of the session, I have a handful of "soccer balls" (paper wads) that I've confiscated. Graded some papers, then off to the 1:45 art class. They usually start out a little rowdy, but settle down once we start drawing. Most of the girls want to take their books home to finish since they spend so much time coming up with a clever idea, start to draw, erase, and start again...

Walked home as fast as I could, then J (T re-named her, "Julee" after our first interview, so I'll start using that...) picked me up and we went to the girls' orphanage. We brought some beads and elastic so they could make bracelets and necklaces. The younger girls enjoyed it, but the older girls pulled me away after a little bit and we hung out in their room. We pieced together a conversation in English and Kurdish ... The call to prayer went out (or "answers to prayer" as Zander calls it), and the girls asked me how I pray in America. I tried to explain, but they didn't understand, so I asked them if they wanted me to show them. Even though they didn't understand most of it, I asked God to bless our time and help me learn to communicate with them. I had an enjoyable time. Julee dropped me back off at home, then I unwound for a bit before getting motivated to grade a stack of math papers.

Skyped with Lisa in the evening regarding the art show tomorrow ... her phone ran out of minutes. Technology is awfully convenient! Then headed for bed.