The Joys of Teaching at ICSL

I know that I have mentioned how my attitude towards teaching and living in Lima has drastically changed this year, which calls for many thanks and praise to God! Here are some recent reasons for this...

- Spiritual Emphasis Week went well. Praise God for two brothers, one in 4th grade and one in 6th grade, who accepted Christ within the last week. One was during spiritual emphasis week, and one a few days later. There is not much that can compare to seeing God at work in the lives of these kids. I am excited to see how He is going to use these two boys to speak truth and be a light to their parents who are not believers.

- I am really excited about the creation & evolution unit I am starting with my seventh graders. They are SO interested and have tons of questions, and it is awesome seeing my students taking out their Bibles on their own to highlight verses that we talk about in class because they want to remember them. I'm looking forward to the next month or two as they do some of their own research in order to defend God as Creator. It is interesting to think back to the beginning of last year when I was so anxious and apprehensive about the idea of integrating my beliefs into my science classes because of my background with secular education, but God has really grown a desire and passion within me to teach these topics and to continue asking my own questions about how science supports my faith.

- I got to teach in my pajamas last Friday :) Doesn't get much better than that, although it is VERY difficult to stay motivated to teach all day when you feel like crawling into bed.. imagine how the kids feel. Needless the say, the attention spans were a little shorter than normal that day.

- This morning my house is finally quiet again after have 12 high school girls sleep over our house last night. I love having the freedom to build relationships with my students outside of school. They are so sweet and completely crazyy, but they definitely have a way of making me act like I am in about 7th grade again.. leaving me wondering how I'm the one in charge!

- Lastly, living in Peru has some serious perks, like traveling to incredible places that I would never see otherwise, such as the AMAZON! I am super excited because Amanda and I are both flying to the jungle this Thursday - Sunday because we have a few days off from school. It will just be the 2 of us going to a place called Puerto Maldonado, staying in bungalows in the middle of the Amazon, taking hikes through the rainforest, visiting Monkey Island, and taking canoe rides down the river to see some Peruvian alligators! Then on Saturday we are going to a different lodge, called Anaconda Lodge (ah!), to do some kayaking. This kind of trip is definitely at the top of my list of things I need to do while I am in Peru, probably even more than Machu Picchu, so I'm hoping it lives up to my expectations :) So be looking for some pictures after I get back!