Every year Wesleyan Christian Academy does two Christmas programs. One is a band/choir concert and the other a musical drama. This years program was called The Christmas County Spelling Bee. I was so proud of how the kids did. Everything went so smoothly. I know these video clips will not tell you how wiell they did but you can get an idea. Enjoy!
The Christmas County Spelling Bee
Mighty God
Everlasting Father
Jesus Is the Name Above All Names
Junior High Choir
Intermediate Band
Intermediate Strings
Reading Center
One thing that bugs me about the holiday season, is that many people are starting to forget Thanksgiving. We go from Halloween straight into the Christmas season. I know Thanksgiving is only celebrated one day of the year but before we get all greedy let's not forget to thank the one who gives us life. I thought I might share my list of things I am thankful for.
1. That God allows me to enjoy this life one more day.
2. My family and friends.
3. That I have an awesome job and am able to live my dream.
4. For the privilege of living in the Cayman Islands and sharing my gifts with my students.
5. For students who remind you that what you do is important and you are making a difference.
6. That God loves me and desires a relationship with me. No questions asked!
7. Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate
8. Music
9. That no matter what happens in this world, I know that God has it all in control.
10. Food on my table and a roof over my head.
Saturday is the day. The much anticipated vacation is finally here. Boy am I ready for some shopping and good old American food. You never realize how much you miss something until it is out of reach for a few months. I have learned to appreciate the little things in life. Anyway we will be making our way to Houston, TX this year for the ACE Teacher Convention. One day at the convention and then it is off the the mall, Walmart and Target to spend my hard earned cash. Oh and I got selected as the designated driver on this trip. UGH! Please pray for my fellow teachers as they will have to put up with my driving. I don't mind driving but would rather ride and enjoy the sights.
Things are coming along for our two Christmas programs. When we come back from vacation there will be two weeks until our first concert. I think we have a wonderful program set up for that night and I am anxious for the students to perform. You pray that the night goes smoothly and the students do their best. Oh and pray that I don't crash and burn before then.
By the way remember all that rain I told you about before. Well is it still raining. It also seems that a hurricane is headed our direction. Not a big one. I know it is crazy since hurricane season ended November 1. Life on the island isn't always paradise.
It seems as though it has rained just about everyday since October started. Most of the time it is not just a little rain but a huge flood. So every morning I have been getting into my boat and floating to school (I wish!). Anyway we are getting closer and closer to Christmas. I can hardly believe how fast the year has gone. We have about four school weeks until our band concert. Yikes! Things seem to be coming together but I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch. In about five weeks we will performing our musical program. The kids have worked incredibly hard and are getting anxious to be finished. I am a little nervous about it but we have put in the time so I am sure it will be wonderful. Before all of this happens we will be going on vacation to Houston, Tx for teacher convention and do a little shopping. It will be the first time I have been off island since arriving in August. I am ready for a little break as are the rest of the staff and students. I was hoping to get home to visit some family but that did not work out this time. So I will be looking forward to seeing them at Christmas.
I know it is way past time for me to blog. Well we are officially 4 weeks into the school year and 3 weeks into the music program. Ahhhhhhhhhh is all I have to say. As I have already learned from experience nothing goes as planned. I am learning new things everyday, including how to repair a few instruments. There is no one on the island who repairs instrument so with the help of the internet I was able to fix a french horn and a trumpet. I have 11 music classes I teach during the week. That includes 4 choirs, 3 band, and two string classes. Whew! You know there should be a manual for all the things they forgot to teach you in college. Thankfully things are starting to smooth out and I am getting used to the new schedule. I love it and am having the time of my life. God is so awesome and knows just what we need. So my prayer for this year is that God would use me and that this music program would be a reflection of who He is.
Peace after the storm
These pictures were taken two days after
Hurricane Gustav.
One day the seas can be raging in our lives and we feel like the waves are beating us in the face. We try to stand on our own feet but then wave after wave keeps rolling in and we can't seem to grasp ahold of anything. Finally we get so tired of struggling and are about to go down for the last time. In that moment we remember there is one who has control over the wind and waves. With our last breath we cry, "Jesus, help me". Before you know it your not fighting any more. There are no waves beating you in the face. You are completely relaxed, almost floating on the waves now. There is no more resistance you are completely at the mercy of your Heavenly Father. Now your mind if totally focused on Him and no longer can you see that the waves are still tossing you to and fro. No need to worry about those waves, God has it all under control. Just relax and enjoy the ride!
Well school officially begins on Monday. I am not really sure I am ready but excited to get started teaching again. This week I spent time picking out new music and getting things ready for this year. I never realized how different it would be from what I have spent the last three years doing. It looks as though my schedule is going to be full and exciting. I am planning on doing a childrens Christmas program this year instead of a high school program. I thought I would save the Easter program for the high school. It is just wonderful to finally be accomplishing what I have worked my whole life to do.
So I arrived back in Cayman yesterday very late. After sitting in Miami Airport for 6 hours I was sooo ready to be here. Only to come home to excruciating heat and a broken a/c. So I have been sweating profusely since I got here. I think I am going to die. I had planned on getting things unpacked but that kind of went out the wind. Any way the a/c is supposed to be fixed before the night is over. I am glad to be back and ready for an exciting school year. I will have more on my new adventures as a music director. I am very excited but also extremely nervous. I'll just let God do the leading and I will try my best to follow.
After $2700,my truck all fixed and back to normal. Thankfully I have good insurance and they paid for almost all of it. The man who did the body work is an artist. You can hardly even tell anything was wrong. It is just great to have my truck back!
I am a horribly bad person. I have yet to post anything worth talking about. Just trying to get the end of the school year rapped up. We have about one and a half weeks left. I am in need of some rest. I am ready to be away from the island and spend a little time with my family. I have succeeded in passing all of my class this year. They have done well and are ready to move to the next grade level. I guess I never expected them all to pass. This year has been a struggle to say the least. So it is a huge accomplishment to say they are all moving forward. I have my reservations about some but I know God has a plan for their lives and I know He will be with them in the future. I know I have learned some valuable lessons for the future as well. I have yet to say anything about nest year but I was waiting for the right time. Come next fall I will finally get to be in the position I have waited for so long. I am going to be the new music director in the fall. I know that it is a huge responsibility but I am confident that God will enable me to do the best I can. I am sooo excited for this new stage in my life. So you pray that God will give me the strength and courage to do his will in my life. That means no more classroom teaching. YEAH!!!
I finally get to go home for two days. It is going to be a very short trip but well worth the effort. I had this bright idea to go home for Mother's Day and surprise my mom. I haven't been able to be with her for her special day for the last two years. It can be rather difficult for me to fly home for such short trips. I need the time away and I am sure my mother is going to be completely surprised. I can't wait! So if any of you know my mother please don't tell her!
Why become a parent if you know that you can't raise a child with character? Let me start off by saying that I am not a parent but have for the last three years been a teacher at Wesleyan Christian Academy in the Cayman Islands.Not that being a teacher gives me the right to say much about having children but hear me out. As a teacher looking on at the students that come into my classroom everyday, I would have to say that most of them are allowed to do whatever they please at home. I have never been able to figure out why a parent would allow their sweet little 5 or 6 year old to make the rules for their home. So why have a child if you know you could never say "No"? Children are not perfect and were not born little angels. It is not the teachers responsibility to train your child up in the way he should go. I believe that was a mandate given by God to parents. Are many parents just ignorant or are they just too caught up in their own lives to realize that a little person is growing up in their home unsupervised? What could be more important than making sure your child isn't the one sitting on the bench everyday at school because he hit another student? It is not the teachers job to make sure your child passes their class every year. Take a little responsibility. Spend some time with them at night and make sure they have their homework done and are ready when it comes time to take the important test to move on the next year. For those of you who read my blog share some ideas of ways I can get my parents more involved. Maybe even some nice ways of telling them they are slacking in the most important job they are ever going to have.
I guess I need to post something since I haven't since the 18 March. Well I have been on spring break so that gives me an excuse. Remember I said I wanted to paint my room. Well that never happened. Instead I worked on the school yearbook for most of the week. There always seems to be more and more to do. I did complete several full page spreads, of which I am very thankful. Now school has resumed and we are back to the normal grind. I made sure I spent lots of time down at the beach so I could work on my tan. The water was quite lovely and very chilly. It was just a nice relaxing week. I even spent a few hours enjoying my favorite talk radio host Glenn Beck. He is incredibly funny and kept me from being to bored. With school resuming this week we have about 9 weeks of actual school days. I cannot wait till June 11 arrives and I can fly back to the states for some much needed r and r.
Spring break can't get here soon enough. We have one and a half days left and I think I am going to go crazy. I had planned on spending the time at home in Indiana but I could never find a ticket cheap enough. So I will be spending my spring break in Cayman this year. Which is probably a good thing because there are so many things I need to get done. I have decided to paint my bedroom. The last three years I have lived in a white room. I am sick of white. I thought maybe I would go with something a little more lively. Possibly even a dark blue but I think that will make my room seem to small. Who knows I might end up painting it neon orange. I will keep you up to speed about that. Maybe even put some pictures of the finished product on my blog Then I need to spend some serious time on the school yearbook. I am co-editor with Mrs. Becky Profitt. It is actually really fun coming up with new ideas for every page. I have been so busy or too tired to give it the time I would like to spend on it though. So I must take the time over break to get as many pages done as possible. So you pray that I get my act together and get my work done and get some much need rest as well.
I must say I have the cutiest niece in the whole world.
"Mom,we are freezing!"
Today I spent the afternoon taking a few pictures.
I am trying to come up with a new hobby. It looks
like it might be photograpy. We will keep working
at it and see what happens. I hope you enjoy them.
This first picture is just a boat way off Cayman
shores.
It is Friday! Whew! It has been a crazy stressful week. There were many times this week I wondered if I was going to survive. Here I am at the end writing this message. If any one knows much about ACE you know that the students score their own work. That is all wonderful until you have to train 5 and 6 year olds how to do that. Just like you don't have to teach them to lie you also do not have to teach them to cheat. It can be a long drawn out process. I have tried a different approach from my first two years and I think maybe it is going to work better. I train each individually and they seem to be getting the hang of it. I guess we will see what happens in the next few weeks. For the most part I am very happy with how the class has performed this year. There are still a few kinks to work out but they have done well. I believe all will be able to move on to the next grade level. God has a way of coming in at just the right time. The students are very good at giving hugs and telling me they love me. For some reason they always seem to hug me when I am upset at them. I think they can sense when I need a hug. I am so thankful for the opportunity to mold their young minds. It is an awesome responsibility and don't take it lightly. I just hope that some how they will never forget that I care about them and want them to succeed.
So we are already in the middle of February and I have only written twice. I guess I better get on the move. I am coming to the end of my three year contract at Wesleyan Christian Academy in the Cayman Islands. I had to make a big decision on whither to come back next year. I know how could that be so hard. I have spent the last few months worring about it when actually I really knew what God wanted. Sometimes we can be so human. I try to do too many things in my own strengh. I like to count my chickens before they hatch so to speak. I just never learn. The decision is made and I can go down the road kicking rocks. I will be returning to the beautiful island once more. I don't know if I will ever be able to leave when the time comes. I have come to call this place home. I still miss the USA but it is so calm and peaceful here. I can just be myself when I am in Cayman. I am so thankful that I get the privilege to live in such a beautiful place. It is awesome to be content in this life. God is so wonderful to me! I never cease to be amazed at what he does in my life every day.
I am home for the week. Wesleyan is on a one week vacation so I get to be home with my family. I am so excited to get to watch the Superbowl. I am a huge football fan. I wish the Indianapolis Colts had made it to the big game but I will settle for the New York Giants. I am hoping the Giants pull off a big upset. Well shall soon see. My sisters birthday is this Tuesday. I just wanted to wish her a "Happy Birthday" and say the "I love you sis". We are planning to hang out and get a massage. I can't wait. I could sure spend some time relaxing while I am home.
My Class
My first full week back in Cayman is just about over. It has been a long one that is for sure. We are in revival with Rev. Steve Clemens. We have had chapel services every day except on Monday. The students are getting quit restless. It is very difficult for 5 and 6 year olds to sit for an hour and a half. I have decided not to pester them about being still during service. It makes for a rough day when they start the morning sitting for so long. With that in mind, I have kept their work load to a minimum so the teacher can stay sane. They all seemed eager to come back and tell me about their Christmas. I think I even missed the students a little. It was nice to get back to the normal schedule. I love having the time off but usually I can't wait to get back to being busy again. I hardly know what to do with myself when I am not working.
The weather is just about perfect this time of year. The temperature is between 75 and 80 with a nice cool breeze to keep it cool. Perfect weather to sit outside and enjoy the sun on my face. I can sit outside without sweating to death. So I will hopefully get to enjoy many long walks along the beach in the next few weeks.
