Random Q & A

If you were given $1 million, what would you buy first?

I'd pay my tithes and then I would completely pay off my student loans. And with the maybe $1 I had left, I'd buy a Dr. Pepper ;)

What are 3 things that few people know about you?

1) I can remember names/dates, but past that, my memory stinks. 

2) I am scared to death of needles/shots. As in, semi-panic attack, tears, the works...

3) I try to act like I don't care what people think about me when in reality, I really do care.

Who do you most admire? Why?

my mom - She's had to overcome so much in her life to get to where she is today. She is the most selfless, generous, loving person I've ever met. She knows the Word like no one else and she's always been the best role model possible.

What's the most difficult thing you have ever done?

Burying my dad wasn't enjoyable.  After that, I'd say that leaving my mom to go back to Senegal for the first time after my dad had passed away was probably the most difficult thing I've ever done.

Describe your usual "uniform." What are you normally wearing?

Well, since I live in Dakar, it's changed a bit. You'll most often find me in a long skirt and top. If I'm wearing pants/capris in public (as in, not at the school, friend's home, etc.), then I'll have a wrap skirt on over them. It's a form of respect for the culture I live in.

Put your music on shuffle. What are the first 3 songs to play?

1)  Immortals by Fall Out Boy

2) My Lighthouse by Rend Collective

3)  Be Thou My Vision by Selah

Coke or Pepsi?

coke

What are you reading?

I've got 4 books on Differentiating Instruction with Small Groups in teaching. It may sound boring to you, but I am so excited about this stuff! I can't wait to implement it with my 5th graders!

Everybody's creative in some way. Where's your creativity?

I like to write. 

Favorite Bible story?

Naomi and Ruth

Holiday plans?

I don't know exactly, but thanks to an unexpected blessing coming my way, I'm now highly considering going home to Alabama for Christmas this year. We'll see.

New Rule: For the rest of your life, you can only eat the meals you ate yesterday. So your breakfast will be the same as yesterday's breakfast, and so on. What are you eating?

Breakfast - fresh mango

Lunch - steak quesadilla & fries from The Spot

Supper - staff potluck dinner

Have any pets?

We can't have pets in staff housing here. But I have a black lab, named Allie, in the US. She is now my mom's "baby" since I'm gone :)

You're required to go an entire week without the use of any technology for fun. You can still use it for work purposes, though. Can you make it the whole week?

I'd like to think so... 

What'd you do for your last birthday?

I went to lunch with some friends. I went shopping (new scarf, new shoes, groceries). Then I had dinner with my "family away from family" as a joint bday dinner for me and my bday buddy. It was a fun day, full of good food and fellowship and fun :)

What'd you do yesterday?

I worked in my classroom, went to the store, went out to lunch with a friend, went to our staff cookout, and then went to a friend's house to watch the US win a couple medals at the Olympics :)

What's on the agenda for tomorrow?

I'm going to work in my classroom. I need to finish setting it up and start on lesson planning. And I need to reign in all the big ideas I have for my kiddos and this school year :) 

Then we have a Progressive Dinner for our Staff and I'm in charge of an appetizer station. 

Last frustration?

Someone who said something that wasn't very nice/true. Here's the deal... Some people like to spout off a bunch of garbage when they really don't know the truth. All they have to do is ask. It's really not that difficult. Just sayin'

Last excitement?

...finding out that the air conditioner in my classroom had been fixed. Y'all have no idea how excited I was! I mean, this heat/humidity has been no joke lately. So this was HUGE!

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Who knows? Honestly, I quit trying to answer questions like this a few years back. I know where I'd like to be and what I'd like to be doing. But as we all know, life/plans change. So again, who knows?

What do you wish more people knew about your job?

Missionaries do more than just sitting with the locals and building churches. We are doctors and dentists. We are relationship builders. We are mechanics and students. We are teachers. We do so much more than the stereotypical missionaries you see in movies.

Also, a teacher's job is not easy. If done well, it involves a LOT of hard work. It involves more time than can fit into a typical 7:30 to 3:30 work day. It involves more than just teaching - there's counseling and first aid and mediating and more. It's not "free babysitting" or just having kids sit around, playing and eating candy all day. It's a lot of work. But it's so worth it! ...so very much worth it!