Hello Monday

      Happy Monday, Y'all

Today I'm joining Holly and Sarah, and a few other bloggers, for today's Hello Monday link-up, where we say Hello to Monday with a look at what's going on in our lives at the moment.

 So what's on my mind?

A lot. But 'tis the norm with me, I suppose.

Things like...

6 Days - That's how long it is, from today, until I leave Senegal...

Ignore the fact this says 10 days. I posted it to Facebook at that point. 
The sentiment is still the same...

Empty - That's how my classroom feels. Oh my heart, did it hurt to pack everything away in bins/cabinets and shut that door yesterday. I'll still be in my classroom today, tomorrow, and a 1/2 day Wednesday, giving exams for all of my people and also being the room for seniors to pick up their caps & gowns tomorrow. But still... Packing it all away made it final. Last week, a friend said it's like the end of an era. And it kind of feels that way. It's definitely time to go. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't call my mom in pretty intense tears yesterday because of how much it hurt my heart to have it all packed up.

The cart is my teacher supply cart. I'll wrap it up for the next teacher.
The red bag is a surprise gift in the works.
The water is left out because it's Senegal and a bazillion degrees outside :)

Packing - I finally packed up my classroom this weekend and tonight, I will finish packing up at home (minus the clothes I'll be wearing this week). I'm pretty sure this is the earliest I have ever (will have ever?) been packed. But I know this week is going to be super busy full of exams for my students, all sorts of graduation/senior related events each day, all the normal end of a school year checklists, and last bits of time spent with friends. So I wanted to be able to be fully present and not stressed about packing. And while it is sad to see the empty walls, shelves, etc., I know I will be so glad it's done.

One Last Senegal AGWM Dinner - We had that the other day. It was nice to have the time to get together, eat good food, and reminisce about life and ministry in Senegal. 

Saying Goodbye to My Students - I did that with my middle schoolers this past Friday. Then, after exams this upcoming week with my 9th-11th graders... And then at graduation on Thursday with my seniors. Have I mentioned lately how much I hate goodbyes? Boo.

Senior Reception and Senior Worship Service - This was yesterday. I may have teared up at multiple points during each of these events. But it was definitely happy/proud tears. Y'all, this class has held a special place in my heart for so many years. And I will always be so grateful that I was able to stay and finish out my time at DA with this crew.

Embracing All the Emotions/Feelings - That's my current thing. I'm recognizing that it's okay to be both sad and also ready about leaving. And you know... It really is okay to be both nervous and excited about what's coming next. It's okay to feel happy and proud of the incredible students I've worked with - whether that's been just year or for many years. It's okay to be happy and sad and scared and excited all at the same time. Humans are not meant to be emotionless robots. Ok, off my soapbox now ;)

Looking Ahead - A week from today, I'll land in Mobile, AL where I'll spend a few days getting all the necessary background checks/screenings, etc. done, get paperwork signed, hopefully meeting with my principal and seeing my classroom too, and visiting with a few people too. Then, once all that's done, I'll drive up to be with my family, ready to spend the summer with them before heading back down to Mobile at the end of the summer, ready to start my new job. I can't lie. I'll probably still shed a few tears when the time comes to leave this place. But y'all, I'm ready. Let's do this!

What's on your mind today? 

What's Up November

 Happy Wednesday, Y'all

Today, I'm joining Shay, and Sheaffer for their What's Up Wednesday link-up. 

Every month we answer the same list of questions based on how things are currently going in our lives. 

The questions are...

 

What am I eating?

Tonight some friends and I are getting together for a pre-Thanksgiving get-together, having all sorts of yummy appetizer/finger food type foods. Then, tomorrow I'll join my fellow AGWM-ers for our Thanksgiving get-together. So I have all of that deliciousness to look forward to.

What am I reminiscing about?

I've been thinking a lot about the sweet lady who gave me this travel mug. I'll tell anyone, that I feel like I learned more about teaching Special Education from working with this lady than I did in all of college and my previous years of teaching combined. She was an amazing teacher. When I started my class, she was such a valuable resource. Since she taught a class very similar to mine, she gave me so many ideas and tips and strategies. She gave encouragement. And she prayed for me too. She'd even write and check in on me before she got so sick, and even for a bit after that, being such an incredible encouragement. She passed away a few years ago, but any time I use this cup, I think of her.

 What am I loving?

I'm loving how well my students get along with one another. I love that it's like a big family in our room. My job is difficult. I go home utterly exhausted every single day. And I know I have no choice but to spend time after hours/on the weekend lesson planning. It's a lot. And it's hard. BUT still, I do love my job. And one of the things I absolutely, positively, 100% love the most about my job is seeing how my people are so great together. I love that they have each other, they have this friendship... I love that they look out for one another. I love that they want to help one another. I love that they sometimes argue like brothers and sisters, but in the end, they 100% have each other's backs. They are such an incredible group of kids. And I love it!

What have I been up to?

This past weekend, I spent some time with my fellow AGWM-ers here in Senegal, while we all worked on goal setting for the upcoming year (and beyond) in ministry. In preparation for setting/writing up my new goals, I reviewed the ones I've set the last few years. The "eye-opening" one was from 5 years ago, when I was writing goals in regards to starting my class. This adventure God called me on has been such a great one. And I have been consistently amazed at how He's worked  in the lives of my students (and me). I've been so grateful for the opportunities He's already blessed me with. And I'm looking forward to seeing what else He has in store for the future...

What am I dreading? 

We had a few nice/cool days. Then, bam! The high heat/humidity came back with a vengeance. So yes... I do kind of dread going outside at the moment. It's just so very hot, humid, and uncomfortable. And let's be honest here... I'm honestly, just so grateful to have a job where I work inside. 

What am I working on?

Lesson planning for 487 classes a week. ...or maybe just 16 :)

 What am I excited about?

I know Thanksgiving hasn't arrived yet. But still... At this point, I'm most excited about Christmas. I love being a teacher at Christmas time. I love finding ways to incorporate Christmas fun into as many of my lessons, as possible. Even if it's lame Christmas-themed math problems... And it's even more fun when working at a Christian school, where we're able to talk about the real/true meaning of Christmas - the birth of Jesus. Plus, if we're talking about Christmas, I can't not mention my excitement at the thought of Christmas Break coming up, which not only finally gives me a break from work, but along with that comes lots of days with no alarm clocks and also time with my family in Alabama. So yes... I'm definitely, super excited about Christmas!

What am I watching?

I'm considering starting to watch Grey's Anatomy. I've seen clips here or there online. So I know the general premise of the show. But I've never watched a full episode. Anyone a fan? Is it worth it to start from the beginning?

What am I reading?

I've been diving into the world of the "Elephant & Piggie" books by Mo Willems, thanks to one of my people loving them so much. We end up reading at least one a day together. They're super cute little books. And I must admit... Hearing that sweet little voice reading/laughing through the books always bring a smile to my face. I love seeing kids enjoying reading! So fun!

What am I listening to?

I've started listening to Christmas music. It's just such a fun, smile-producing addition to my day when I'm lesson planning or studying or working around the house. I love it!

What am I wearing?

Nothing terribly exciting. But I have started wearing my hair down a bit more. Does that count in this section? :)

 What am I doing this weekend?

My weekend starts tomorrow. We have a long weekend since it's Thanksgiving. School is dismissed at lunchtime today. Then we're out of school the next two days. Yay for a school in a non-American country that still celebrates American holidays :) Anywho... My plan, as of now, is to take it easy most of the weekend. I'll have the Thanksgiving get-togethers I mentioned  earlier. Then, a friend and I are planning to go get pedicures this weekend. And another friend and I are trying to plan out a time to catch up on a show we both like. Past that, I'll do a bit of grad school, a bit of housework, and I'll also have to do my lesson planning for the week after Thanksgiving. And yes, I'm planning to have a bit of relaxing time thrown in the mix as well. 

What am I looking forward to next month?

All things Christmas, of course.

Past that - I'm looking forward to being finished with grad school next week. After 25+ years of schooling from kindergarten to now a 2nd Master's degree, I am so so ready to be done!

What else is new?

Schedule changes and all the puzzle solving fun that entails ;)

And that's what I'm up to this month.

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month? 

12 Years Ago

At the end of this week, it will be 12 years.

12 years ago...

I landed in Senegal for the first time.

So as I thought back to that time, I started to thinking of all the emotions I was feeling then. I started thinking of all the thoughts I was having. And I decided to write a letter to the Me of that time in my life...

Dear 23 (almost 24) years old Me,

Wow! You are so brave! 

You may not realize it yet. 

But trust me...

You are, indeed, brave. 

At this point, you're on an adrenaline high. 

You've had a roller coaster of emotions zooming through your heart and mind. ...from the extreme lows of saying goodbye to your family at the Atlanta airport to the extreme highs of the excitement of landing in Dakar. 

I realize it's scary. 

You've never even lived away from home.

 So I know you're nervous right now.

And while you've got a bit of teaching under your belt, it's not a lot. So your confidence in yourself as a teacher is quite low. 

Trust me... 

One day, twelve years from now, you'll be writing yourself a letter and smile at how confident you now (then?) feel as a teacher. After all, by that point, you'll know you're actually an Educational Rockstar ;)

And yes, you did read that correctly.

I said twelve years from now...

I know you're thinking you'll only be staying for one year (maybe 2 max). But just so you know... God has a sense of humor. So go ahead and get comfortable. You're going to be there a while. And in a few years, when you leave for a bit, you'll still end up coming back.

You're still finding your footing as a Missionary Teacher. 

Many of your missions supporters don't fully get what you do. You'll hear the following question a lot...

"So are you a missionary or are you a teacher?"

And each time, you'll take a deep breath, smile sweetly, and say...

I am a Missionary Teacher.

And then you'll explain what that means.

I won't lie to you.

Sometimes it's going to be hard.

Friends will leave.

There will be hard things to deal with back home in the US.

And the list goes on...

But trust me...

There will be plenty of good.

Today, you stepped on Senegalese soil for the first time. And when you did you instantly felt that you were at home.

Today, you fell in love with the country whose sandy streets and tall buildings, whose colorful outfits and lively music, whose open doors and hospitable people all make it the fun place you love.

12 years from now, you'll be in line at the post office, chatting with the worker, and tell her that while the U.S. will always be home... In a way, so will Senegal. Senegal is where God called you to go AND where you choose to live and the U.S. is where you visit. 

And you love the truth in that statement.

The past 12 years have produced rich memories that will last your heart for a lifetime. Take time to remember them. Take time to truly notice the goodness and faithfulness of God each step of the way. 

Take time to be grateful for all God's doing in your life in the next 12 years (and beyond). 

See ya in 12 years ;)

Sincerely,

35 (almost 36 year old Me)

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 Today, I'm joining Erika and Andrea, for their weekly Friday Favorites linkup and sharing about one of my most favorite topics to discuss - Today's my Senegal-iversary... The anniversary of the date I landed in Senegal for the very first time.

Q&A Time

Happy Saturday Y'all

A few days ago, I asked friends on Instagram to share any questions they may have about my life/ministry here in Senegal, West Africa. So I have included these in this post. If you're reading and have any other questions after this, either ask below or send me an email. 

I'm basically an open book :)

I came to Senegal for the first time in July 2009 and I’ve been here ever since (minus 1.5 years halfway through when I went back to help out with my dad).

I am the only Special Education Teacher at my K-12 school. So I could potentially have students in all grades. At the moment, I have them in all grades but K, 1st, 2nd, and 8th. And yes, it’s just as crazy and fun as you would think :)

Thankfully they are not all in my room at the exact same time. But we do often have a lot of overlap of different grades meeting at once. So I do a lot of rotation style teaching. And thankfully I have someone helping out in my room for half of the day this semester. So that helps too. Honestly, it isn’t always easy. But we make it work. And everyone is learning and happy, so all is good.

I love teaching Bible the most. Second would probably be a tie between  English/Writing and History. I teach all subjects (just not to the same grades). And honestly, I enjoy it all. ...except, I may not love some things as much as others. Case in point: Higher level Math. Yuck!

As of now, I am planning to come back to the States this summer. I need to speak in a few churches and do a bit of missions support raising. I also need to get some CEUs for my education side of things, so I’m hoping to attend the MEGA Conference in Alabama this summer as well.

I did NOT have COVID. My school requires teachers to quarantine if they have traveled internationally. The requirement is 3 days. But after discussing it with my supervisor, I chose 7 days just to be extra cautious, considering the more high-risk nature of some of my students.

We are currently in-person (F2F). Here’s hoping it stays that way the rest of the school year. :)

Ceebu yaap - It's the most deliciously cooked mixture of rice, beef, and veggies. Typically, it's cooked long and slow and is full of incredible flavor. While I do enjoy all of the Senegalese dishes I've tried, this one is by far my favorite.

That’s a hard one. They’re both easier for different reasons. 

The US is easier because there are certain protocols in place for teaching SPED that we don’t necessarily have here. Plus there’s Walmart and Target and all sorts of Teacher Stores to easily and cheaply buy resources I need. And in terms of finances, I get paid far more teaching in the US.

But, at the same time, it’s easier here. I don’t have nearly as much paperwork to do here. I teach in a Christian school so I can freely teach about/discuss God and His awesomeness with my students. And I don't really care about the money. That's not why I'm here.

I love Alabama. It will always be “home” for me. But, I don’t know... Some days I could see myself being here forever and then other days... 

And if I’m being honest, while I do love Alabama, I could be happy living anywhere. I really could. So even if I end up moving back to the US at some point, there's no guarantee that I'll stay in Alabama.

My ankles are definitely improving and are better than when I left Dakar 7 weeks ago. But they're still not at 100%. I have done damage to the muscles in the left one (the good one). Plus, my range of motion is awful in that one. So I’m still having occasional pain/swelling in it. And then the right one (the broken one) still has the fracture that won't completely heal for some reason. But my range of motion is far better in that one. I may never be back at 100%. But at least I’m not in pain all the time anymore. And for that, I am grateful.

I am a Missionary Associate with the Assemblies of God. My primary ministry is to teach at Dakar Academy. Therefore, I am a Missionary Teacher :)

I’m currently studying the book of Romans.

Help me pray for continued healing in my ankles. Help me pray for peace of mind, as well.

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 Today, I'm joining Erika and Andrea, for their weekly Friday Favorites linkup and sharing a few questions about my one of my most favorite parts of my life... my job and my life in Senegal. A few days ago, I asked friends on Instagram to share any questions they may have. And these are the ones in this post. If you have any other questions after this, either ask below or send me an email and I'll be happy to answer them for you. I'm basically an open book, after all :)

And yes... I do realize it's Saturday. I fully intended to post this yesterday (Friday). But I ended up staying in bed most of the day, taking full advantage of my last day of peace and quiet in quarantine, with very little screen time. So blogging was definitely low on my list of priorities.

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Currently

Happy Wednesday, Y'all

Today I'm joining Anne from In Residence for her monthly link-up, where we share what's currently going on in our lives. And each month, Anne gives us a list of prompts to use to guide our posts. 

August's prompts are...

  * choosing *  consuming * enjoying * ordering * remembering *

I'm currently choosing to work a little each day, slowly weaning my way back into a semi-routine. I'm definitely not doing a lot. But I figured if I do a little bit each day, it won't be too bad when the real "work days" start. And at the moment, I’m doing just computer work. Planning my SPED presentation for professional development days, starting IEP prep, figuring out scheduling (which tends to be an interesting "puzzle" every year), and more. Then I’m planning to start on classroom unpacking and rearranging next week.

I'm currently consuming far more water than I used to. I got in the habit of it at the beginning of the summer and I've actually noticed an improvement already. Here's hoping I can keep it up when school starts back and the cravings for more caffeine kick in... :)

I'm currently enjoying peaceful evenings, sitting outside on my balcony, every now and then.  And since the only time that it is actually semi-cool during this time of year is in the late evenings, that is when I typically choose to enjoy it. 

I'm currently ordering nothing else. Although, I did just order these masks to use while working with a few of my kiddos next year, who need to be able to read my lips while I speak. It was a last minute decision. But I'm glad I did. Here's hoping they arrive before students do :)

I'm currently remembering all sorts of fun things from the past decade or so. This past week, I celebrated the anniversary of my arrival in Senegal for the first time, 11 years ago. How is it possible that it's been that long? Some times it feels like it was just yesterday...

 And since it's my blog and I can, I thought I'd share a couple more :)

I'm currently planning to go out with a few friends for my birthday tomorrow. Good people, good food, good times... All good in my book ;)

I'm currently looking forward to getting back into a routine. I love Summer Break. I may still wake up ridiculously early. But I 100% love not having to hear an alarm go off every single morning. Plus, I love that I still have all this free time and time to work at my own pace/schedule. But y'all... I'm really looking forward to seeing my students again. I really am looking forward to school getting back in session (with COVID related precautions in place, of course). 

I'm currently listening to this song by Cory Asbury ("Sparrows"). A friend shared it with us at our AG get-together the other day and I loved the lyrics. It's such a good song. Well, really, the entire album is good. I love it!

I’m currently trusting in God, thankful that He is the Master Author of my life. I’m thankful for the hope I can (and do) have in Him. 

  So what about you?

What are your currently up to?

Currently

Happy Wednesday, Y'all

Today I'm joining Anne from In Residence for her monthly link-up, where we share what's currently going on in our lives. And each month, Anne gives us a list of prompts to use to guide our posts. 

July's prompts are...

  * cooking *  photographing * sharing * trying * wondering *

So what am I currently up to?

I'm currently cooking very little, as I still can't stand (on my "good" foot) very long without being in pain. And let's face it... Trying to cook while using crutches is almost impossible. But thankfully, I've had sweet friends sharing meals with me, having food delivered, etc. I've been blessed for sure.

I'm currently photographing very little since I've been stuck inside my apartment for almost one full month. That fact totally boggles my mind, y'all. 

I'm currently sharing very little on the blog. I've got lots of ideas. I've even drafted a couple posts. But, I just haven't shared them. Writing has always been kind of therapeutic for me. But lately... Lately, my heart just hasn't been in it.

I'm currently trying to take care of all the things online since I wasn't able to go back to the States this summer. How is it that everything expired during the one summer I was NOT in the US? What are the odds of that? ;) 

I'm currently wondering a lot of What ifs as I prepare to go back for more x-rays and a follow-up with the doctor on Friday.  What if it's worse? What if he says I need surgery? What would that mean for the upcoming school year? Where would I go for it? What about COVID-19? How would that affect surgery and travel and such? How would I arrange a wheelchair at an airport? What about the financial implications of a more serious injury? And what about recovery time? I'm a teacher that teaches 8 out of 8 periods a day. I don't have a lot of downtime during the day. So how would that work? The fear of the unknown is a big thing for me.

 And since it's my blog and I can, I thought I'd share a couple more...

I'm currently taking a class on assessing students with special needs. I can't say that assessments are my most favorite thing in the world. But it is a necessary part of the education world. So why not learn more about it and help out the people God has placed in my care? :)

I'm currently liking this quote a friend shared on Facebook the other day. It pricked my heart, for sure. What a great reminder of the importance of His Word!

  So what about you?

What are your currently up to?