my people group

You often hear missionaries say they are going to work with various people groups around the world. A people group is defined as an "ethnolinguistic group with a common self-identity that is shared by the various members." 

Like other missionaries, I have a people group.  They have their own language, they have their own cultural habits, and they have their own view of the world. They're not very tall.  They're always learning new things. They come in groups of about 18-22. They need love, and they love to talk. Sometimes they're messy. They're experts at building things in sand and they have vivid imaginations. And they're 5-6 years old.

My KG class is my people group. They are the people God has called me to love and share his story.  They are the people I see everyday.  They are the people I watch learn all year.  They are the children of people serving in ministry as church planters, pastors, doctors, teachers, and Bible translators. They are the children of airline pilots and business owners.  They are my people group.

Will you join me in prayer this year for my class? Would you be willing to pray for one student everyday all year? If so, I will send you the first name of a child in my class, and you can join me in serving this people group through prayer this year. Set an alarm or put their name in your phone and pray everyday for the sweet and impressionable children that will walk through the door of my classroom each morning. 

Trip to the US

At the end of January, my poppa went to be with Jesus.  I had the opportunity to travel to the States to celebrate his life with my family.  It was such a blessing to spend a short, but sweet, time with my family.

First hug in more than 13 months!

This man will always be one of my heroes!

Richardson Gang

We were all able to celebrate Nana's birthday together. 

Got to see one ball game while I was there 

It was so great to spend time with so much family. 

Chicken Pox

In January, I was assessing a child's reading.  We were reading a book called Spots. It had a picture on the front cover of a child sick in bed with chicken pox. When the child was asked what the book was about, he answered, "He has flea bites!" Only a kid who grew up in Africa would say that!

After that, chicken pox went through my class.  For almost two weeks, I had child after child out with chicken pox (or other sickness). I only had half a class for two weeks.  It was funny to hear their commentary:

"I need to get the chicken pox.  I could really use a day off school." -A five year old.

"I don't want to go home! I love school!" -Another five year old.

"I was soooooooo itchy! I had to scratch like thisssss!!!!" -Yet another five year old.

Needless to say, they all know what Spots is about now!

Spring Break: From the Kindergartner in Ethiopia...

Student 1: I went swimming and put my face under water! 

Student 2: My friend came over for a play date at my compound 

Student 3: I saw hippos!

Student 4: I saw hyenas!

Sometimes you expect the answers, and sometimes you don't! 

The Long Version... (with pictures!) Pt. 1

A lot has happened! If you need the short version, see the last post, but it doesn't have pictures!

Right after Christmas, every two years, SIM Ethiopia gets together for a Spiritual Life Conference outside of the city.  It was a great time of worship, fellowship, and resting together.

The pool was nice, but the monkeys on the other hand...

Ethiopian Christmas is celebrate on January 7th, so we get to celebrate twice! You can't be upset about that! This year, I had the opportunity to celebrate with my teaching assistant and her wonderful family. We celebrated with a traditional meal, and I enjoyed some cooking lessons.

Learning to cook and enjoying sweet time with this beautiful lady and her family

It was also so great to have my lovely friend who used to live here visit from Australia

In January, we had Spiritual Emphasis Week for our elementary students at Bingham.

Field Days are a highlight of the year at Bingham.  As usual, fun was had by all, young and old.  It was especially fun to watch my kinders participate in their various races. (5 year old in a sack race? enough said!)

It's been awhile...

A lot has happened recently.  You always think that the time before Christmas is exhausting for teachers, and it is! But this year, the time after Christmas has given me a run for my money.  With everything going on, the blog (and newsletters) have been kind of quiet. Here's what's happened, and maybe some individual blog posts will follow soon.

• Right after Christmas, all of SIM Ethiopia went out of the city for a few days to spend time together in prayer and fellowship at our Spiritual Life Conference.
• One of my friends from my first visit to Ethiopia came to visit for a month. 
• Two fun filled Field Days at Bingham. 
• My sweet Poppa went to be with Jesus after a long battle over the last several months. I travelled to America to spend time with my family for ten days. 
• 100th Day of School.
• I travelled to Kenya for professional development (and a quick safari!)
• Chicken pox epidemic in my class.

It's good to get back into the normal routines again (well maybe after the chicken pox passes)!

Christmas in Ethiopia

This year, Christmas looked a little different.  I thought it would be unbearable to be away from family.  But God is good.  I was surrounded by friends who have become like family, and we had fun making new traditions!

One of our family favorites! I was sent all the special ingredients in a care package.

Christmas Eve weather

Christmas Eve Dinner: chicken and steak

Christmas PJ's

So people don't decorate their houses like we do back home.  It didn't feel like Christmas because you didn't see all the lights and decorations.  There is one roundabout that has some Dr. Seuss like trees that light up at night.  We put on our jammies and drove around the roundabout three times while singing songs from the Grinch.  I'm sure we looked like crazy people, but it was a fun new tradition!

Lots of fun surprises came via care packages!

And since the weather was so beautiful, and we were making new traditions, we spent the day at the pool! Such a great treat on a special day!