The Zoo

The whole school learns a scripture passage every month. As a reward for learning the verses, the school has an end of the month activity. A trip to the zoo was the reward for October. I, Rachel, was very sick that day, so I was home in bed, but Phil got to go as well as all of our children. I don't have a lot of pictures of our kids, but I do have some of Phil's class as well as a few of some of the kindergarten class. All of the kids said it was a lot of fun. 

Fall Break

We were able to go away for a few days for fall break last weekend. We left last Saturday and went to a town about two hours away with three other families.  On our way there, we stopped at an apple orchard to eat lunch. We happened to pass by and see the orchard. We asked the lady that was on the property if we could sit in the grass and eat the lunch we brought. She happily obliged and gave us some pillows and blankets to sit on. She also offered us as many apples as we could eat and even offered for us to pick some and take with us. Such great hospitality. We then headed to the town where we were staying and the guesthouse where we would be staying. The house had chickens in the yard, a dog, a swing, hammock, and volleyball net. There was also woods right past the house where we took walks both days. 

On Sunday, we took time to sing and worship and Phil spoke about God's holiness. We then packed lunches and headed to a village about 45 minutes away. We climbed a beautiful mountain (just a small portion) that had a lovely waterfall until we reached a flat meadow area where we played and had lunch. Half the group went on to hike for another hour while some of us and the littlest ones stayed behind to play. 

After everyone came back, we all went back down the mountain via the road (a much easier climb down for the smaller ones) and headed back. The three cars split up and we all did something different for the afternoon. Our family, plus our friend Catherine, went to a restaurant at a hotel on the way back to have some tea and refreshments. We were able to sit on a veranda and have tea and some snacks while looking at the mountains. That evening, we all hung around the house and played outside and games inside. The kids watched a movie to end the evening. 

On Monday, we all headed back to our town after hanging out at the house and taking one last walk in the woods. It was so nice and refreshing to be outside for the majority of our time there. We all felt much refreshed and ready to get back at the business of school, language class, masters class, and all the other things that keep us busy here. 

Harvest Party & Other Things

Every year, the school where we work does a Harvest Party. The kids talk about nothing else for weeks leading up to it. Everyone dresses up and there are prizes given for the best costumes. Each family also sets up a game station and gives small prizes (candy or school supplies) to each child that plays. We did the ring toss game with another family in the school. John dressed up as iron man, Kate was a bird, and Anna was a banana. We brought that from home. One of the teacher's mom is here for the year and she was so kind to make Kate a beak mask. She sewed it and it was so genius! Kate won a prize for her age level for the most creative! John didn't play any games, but the one we did, but he seemed to have a great time! We barely saw Anna throughout the afternoon. The party was right after school. All the families also brought food to share and after the games, we all sat down to eat together. It was pretty chilly, but the kids all seemed to love it! After the party, it was youth night. We had a sitter that a friend recommended come take the kids home and watch them while Phil and I stayed to help with the youth. I co-lead the 9th grade girls and Phil co-leads the 11th/12th grade boys. There is a youth night every other Friday night. 

Today, the fellowship we go to had a get together at a park to celebrate their 20th anniversary. They rented courts to play basketball, soccer, and volleyball and everyone brought food for a picnic. There was also a really nice playground for the kids! 

Also, we hung our first picture in our apartment. I guess that makes it home! :)  It was my favorite picture that Phil took and had printed and framed. We brought it in our suitcase when we came because I liked it so much. 

Anna with her friend from her class

A friend's baby

Manning the ring toss game

Miss Rosa who made the mas for Kate--so clever! 

Our first picture on the wall! 

Youth Retreat

This past weekend, I got to go on the youth retreat for the fellowship we are attending. We decided it was best for Phil to stay home with the kids since we are so new to being here. Plus, he had a lot of work to do for his masters class. We drove about two hours away to a place that was beautiful and very refreshing. There was a giant lake and the cabins were very nice and reminded me of something you'd see in Vermont or any ski town. Phil and I were in charge of organizing the worship team for the weekend. The kids did such a great job and it was such a joy to see them leading their peers in worship! We studied Philippians and talked about Paul and the joy he had even in the midst of trials and his desire to live for Christ! I had a great group of girls in my cabin! We stayed up the first night playing Dutch Blitz until lights out at 12:30. The next day we were too tired from all the games we played during the day with the whole group. The leaders did a great job of putting together some fantastic games. I was so glad to be able to go and get to know the kids better as well as the other youth leaders!

One of the worship teams

Our cabin 

My small group