Getting up to speed...

Update: 

Hello again, it's been way too long since I've posted, but yes I'm still alive and well! 
Here are a few important announcements for those of you back home...

- Next year... in case you haven't already heard... I've made my decision! I will be returning to Peru for another year of teaching & ministry at MCS! 

- Prayer Support Letters were sent out last week, so hopefully most of you received it. If you did not yet get one and would like one, please e-mail/message me your address and I'll send you one! 

- January 8, 2012, at 6pm at Evangelical Covenant Church in Des Moines, I'll be sharing about my first year of ministry in Peru, and the opportunities in store for 2012! There will also be some yummy "tastes from Peru" afterwards. So mark your calendars, I would love to see you there!

These last few months have been jammed pack with school, youth ministry, volleyball, roommates & friends, and the changing of seasons! There is so much to tell about from that last 2 months, and also so much to complete over the next 11 days! Here are some moments that stand out:

 Having my 5th grade girls over to make cookies and braid hair :) 

This was an awesome afternoon filled with laughter! 

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Loved having lunch at my student's house! It's always fun seeing a glimpse of my students' life outside of school!

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 The Jóvenes (young adults) group from church 

having lunch at our apartment after the Sunday service!

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Coaching the 2nd & 3rd grade girls in volleyball! They are such a fun, teachable, goofy, and adorable group! They greet me every Monday after school with huge bear hugs! Love them!

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I also love working with the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade girls in volleyball! We finally had our first game after a few cancellations, and I think they have caught the volleyball "bug"! I can't wait to continue working with them for another year!

 

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NAP, the youth ministry at church, is a huge blessing and a lot of fun! 

Once a month we have a "special NAP" this one was Superhero themed.  

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Amber, my roommate, Margot, our Spanish tutor, and I

Margot is amazing when it comes to Spanish and English grammar! I'm thankful to have her as a teacher. I'm even more excited about the conversations we have about the gospel! Margot is very religious, but does not yet understand how Jesus can be her personal Savior. Please pray for her!

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 FAMILY DAYS!!! . . . 

 

. . . 3 days of competitions between Blue, Green, and Orange Teams. 2 days for students, 1 day for parents. The Red Team, aka the teachers, get to run all the events! 

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Spending time with my wonderful roommates during our Thanksgiving break! We had a full "American-style" feast, watched some football, and then decorated for Christmas!

 

Please Pray:

- We have 2 DAYS of school left! Please pray that I will take advantage of these last 2 days with my students, teach them, love them, and encourage them!

- Also pray for sanity as we have the Christmas program, grading & report cards, cleaning the classrooms, and then packing suitcase to come home (December 22nd i fly out)!!!

Science Fair: Gloring God's Creation

 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:26-27

Update:
Crazy Crystals. Bouncy Balls. Fabricated Fertilizer. Just to name a few of the MCS Science Fair projects. What a busy day it was! Each of the fifty plus students from 5th-8th grade presented their experiments to a teacher and a judge, and then returned that night for the evening exposition to which the parents were invited.  
Way back in May, the students began their research, picked a project, designed an experiment, formed a hypothesis, gathered their materials, and were on their way. For three months they ran trials, observed, collected data, and made conclusions. When August 19th finally rolled around, everyone was anxious to see all the fruit of all their hard work! They were also pretty excited to see which grade would walk away with the Pizza Party, and other awards!

 Presenting during the day!

 Each student displayed their information on a tri-fold poster board 

and had a certain amount of space to set out any additional visuals.

 After the evening exposition, the students and parents waited with anticipation...

until the awards were announced! 5th & 6th grade each had 3 honorable mention projects, while 7th & 8th grade won prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. place.

The 2011 Science Fair Committee! 
Joan & Dan, it was fun working with you guys :)

Please Pray:

- Thank God for His creation and for making us in His image as creative beings!
- We're currently wrapping up 3rd quarter, which means grades, comments, more grades, more comments, and then parent meetings. Please pray that it was be as stress free as possible, and that I will, not procrastinate, but use my time wisely! 


Thanks for your continued prayers!!! 
natalie

Field Trip: Fortaleza Real Felipe

Better late than never... Way back in April, the 5th - 8th graders went on a field trip to Fortaleza Real Felipe a historical fort along the Pacific Coast in Callao, not too far from Lima. The students learned study about the events that took place here in their Peruvian History classes, and then got to come and see it all first hand! Here are some picture from the day:

 

Below: Mr. Madison, the 6th grade teacher, loved hiding in the dungeon and scaring the kids as they walked through the dark tunnels. 

Where I'm At

Update:
February. March. April. May. June. July. August. September... Wow! I've now been living in Peru for more than 7 months. At times it seems like forever, yet in other moments it feels as though I just arrived. 


When I think back on the year so far, I'm reminded of both joyous and difficult times. 
Learning the culture: greeting everyone in the room, and doing the same before leaving, living in a city of 9 million people, taking taxis and busses, and of course the language! I'm still learning at least one new word a day (today's word sobre de jugo = literally envelop of juice, actually Kool-Aid packet). 
Some of the challenges: missing my family, missing many friends' weddings, missing my friends and knowing how to interact socially in my own culture and language, being robbed on the street, missing a whole Iowa summer (including Grandma's pool with the cousins & time at Twin Lakes Bible Camp). 


Above all, His great blessings: Fantastic roommates, teaching with 40 Christian co-workers, 17 students to greet each morning, teaching Bible everyday, becoming part of a great church family, huge improvements in Spanish, having a great support base lifting me up in prayer back home (Thanks Again!!), meeting many other missionaries and being encouraged by their heart for God and for the lost.


My time here has been a time of growth, and I trust and know that God is using this time to prepare me for what He has in store for the future. 


The future...A popular question here, "How long are you staying?" followed by my memorized response since I arrived in February, "I'm committed to stay till December, but I'm praying that God would show me his will beyond that." 


The first several months I think said this more because I thought it was the "correct response," not that I wasn't actually praying, but I was praying more for my will, God please bless this year and use me here, but please don't have me stay another year, away from my family. Then as I continued praying, God worked in my heart and allowed my prayer to change to, Lord, if you want me to stay, please show me clearly, if not I will plan to return home in December and serve you there. It was during this time, that God used many people both here and in the states to encourage me to stay and remind me of how God was working in and through me here. The thought of returning to teach for a second year in Peru at MCS, changed from being an anxious thought to a thought filled with excitement and peace. My prayer has now become, Lord please show me if you do not want me to teach another year in Peru, otherwise I will plan on continuing to teach for another year at MCS. 


I write all this with two purposes: 1) To share my heart with you ad thank you for your support and prayers thus far. 2) To ask you to pray that God's will would be done in this decision. I hope to decide  by the end of September if I will be returning for a second year or not. Please being praying that I will be seeking God daily and that I will be in tune to His leading. 

Some of my awesome co-workers at MCS!

Cultivating Hearts for Missions

Update:

Every June at Monterrico Christian School is Missions Month. We hope to instill in our students from a young age, the importance that God places on caring for others and spreading His word and His love! 

Matthew 25:40

The King will reply, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of min, you did for me."

The 5th and 6th graders went to a near by orphanage to plant sod around the kids play area. Here are a few pictures...

Please Pray:

- These students will grow to have a heart for missions. That they will look out not only for their own needs but first to the needs of others.