This is my last day being with the high schoolers. Next week, I am going to take a 3 day break to finish papers and lesson plans that have to be handed in for my first segment of student teaching. Then I will start my elementary section of student teaching. I will also be teaching the girls’ 8th grade Bible class. I am trying to prepare myself for the drastic switch because teaching elementary PE is going to be very different from high school PE.
Yesterday, I saw my first Nica varsity basketball game. It was nothing like I had ever seen on a high school level. I felt like I was watching an elementary game because people were shooting at the wrong hoop. There were no plays being run, and people would decide to take random shots at the basket. Double dribbling, carry overs, traveling, and 3 second violations were fixtures in the game. I had a hard time not laughing at events in the game, but down here soccer is the main sport. If a Nicaraguan soccer team came to the States, they would demolish my high school team. This is one of the differences that I have observed in Nicaragua compared to the US.
I just received an email from Calvin Theological Seminary. The email stated that I have been accepted into the Masters of Divinity program. I was a little nervous about being accepted to Calvin because I was not in the pre-seminary program at Dordt. At Dordt, I take some of the required classes for admissions to Calvin. I am also working on an application to Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI. I still have so much to do like applying for scholarships, financial aid, and other paper work, and I’m finding it hard to get it all done down here in Nicaragua. I can’t mail any of the forms or papers from down here because the mail system is not reliable, so I have to wait for visitors from the States to send the mail with them.
Right now I feel like I’m a senior in high school or my freshman year of college because I am at a crossroad in my life. I need to make a decision within the next couple of months that will determine what I will be doing and living for the next couple of years. I am deciding between attending seminary in the fall, teaching in the States, or teaching overseas. There are so many options, and I just have to be patient for God’s leading.
I have recently gotten over a little bug. I don't exactly know what it was, but luckily it went away after a couple of days. It wasn't serious enough that I had to miss school. I am thinking about going on an antiparasite medication in a couple of weeks. Other than that one experience, I have found the food and the water here quite safe. I drink the water from the tap and eat raw fruits and vegetables, but I stay away from eating food from street venders.
Last weeks, classes went really well. I felt prepared for the classes, and the students responded positively to the lessons. I am enjoying teaching 7th and 8th grade health more each day, which is yet, as been an answer to many prayers. Junior high is such a difficult time for the students because they aren't children or teenagers. They sway from acting like children and trying to act more grown up and independent. Many of the students are from broken homes, and there actions are cries for attention from adults whether negative or positive. I have to remind myself that these students are kids who just need love. In my Bible classes, I am teaching the book God by Alexander Waugh. It is a difficult book to teach because it is a book that combines every religions views about God into one book. The book doesn't hold the Bible as the Truth, but as another view of God that is equal to the Quran or the Book of Morman. In class, we are going to compare the other views about God in contrast to the Bible. I am praying for wisdom in how to deal appropriately with the material and the students' attitude and hearts.
This week we only had 3 days of school because of the 3-day February break. Some teachers and I went to San Juan, which is about an hour away for 3 days and 2 nights. San Juan is known for its beautiful white sand beaches, blue ocean, and big waves. This weekend I am focusing on resting up and rejuvenating for the next couple of weeks because I will take on all the teaching duties. I am so grateful for the break because I was starting to get tired and worn out from teaching even though I haven’t been at the school very long! While in San Juan, I did a lot of reading and relaxing on the beach. I tried to surf a couple of times, but the waves break so much harder and faster at San Juan compared to the beach we normally go to on the weekends. So it takes more experienced and skilled surfers to catch and ride the waves.
This man is roasting coffee by hand at Rancho Ebenezar. Before they roast the coffee, they beat the coffee in a pot with a big stick to seperate the bean and the chaff. Then the next day they bagged the coffee for our team to take home.
One of my team memebers from AMOR took this picture. I was teaching the Nicaraguan children to play a game called "Shoe Looky." We had so much fun together, even though it took a while to explain the rules of the game. I just used a lot of gestures, and the children were so patient.
This week, I have been taking on a lot of teaching responsibilities, which has been very stressful and tiring. I think the “newness of teaching” has started to wear off a little bit. After a class goes well, I feel like I want to teach for the rest of my life, but other times I feel like I don’t know how I can possibly get through the day. I am looking forward to the weekend to rest and reenergize for the next couple of weeks. In the next 2.5 weeks, I am going to take on all of my supervising teacher’s responsibilities. I am a little nervous for the work load, but I know everything will turn out fine. Through my student teaching experience, I realize that I enjoy teaching older children (10th-12th grade) instead of junior high school. I really enjoy teaching the Bible 12 class because the class is structured around class discussion. Many of the students do not have a relationship with God, and they are searching for answers. At times, I feel quite inadequate to answer students’ questions, but I have to step back and remember that God is going to work through me. I don’t have to have all of the right answers right away in class, which is comforting!
.jpg)
