La Última Semana

Well, what a whirlwind of a week! Our last week of school flew by! Between the packing, celebrations, goodbyes and all, things were a bit chaotic, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. We ended our school week Friday and just did a bunch of fun activities with the kids the whole morning. After lunch, we packed up the whole classroom, organized and cleaned up. We also had to pack our own stuff as well for the trip home. Saturday we took the kids who passed this month’s Bible challenge out to lunch in Cocula.

Sunday evening we took the kids on a little walk for some extra time with them and we said our goodbyes to them after dinner as we put them to bed. We went into their rooms and prayed with them, gave (and received) lots of BIG hugs and “I love you”s. We left for Guadalajara at 3:45am and got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. My trip home was rather uneventful (but I’ll take that any day over my trip there)! I was quite content to walk through the airport at a reasonable pace instead of sprinting and frantically trying to make my connecting flight. J

Thank you for all of your prayers, support, and encouragement over the past four months! It has been good to see my family and friends and catch up a bit. I’m looking forward to doing more of that this summer. However, I am already missing my familia in Mexico like crazy! It’s going to be quite the adjustment to not see their faces every day, give them hugs, and hear my name shouted across the yard.

I would greatly appreciate prayers as I transition into this next stage of life, whatever that may be. I’m looking for a job for the fall and excited, while nervous, to see where God will lead me. I’m trusting that His plan for me is good and will be worked out in His time. He’s blessed me in so many ways in the past 23 years and worked things out so perfectly, I don’t know how I could expect anything different!

I hope you enjoy a few pictures from our final week of school and my last days at Ranchito con Esperanza!

Morning Devotional

Playing games...all sorts :)

All smiles on the last day of school!

Out for treats in Cocula with the kids who passed the Bible challenge this month!

Hanging out 

On our walk...

Showing Dixie some love.

Enjoying our walk.

El Zoológico—Semana Dieciséis

This week was yet another wonderful week. We had normal school days except for Thursday. On Thursday, we had a school field trip and went to the zoo in Guadalajara. The kids were very excited about the field trip, and I can’t lie, I was quite excited myself! It was a hard secret to keep the past couple weeks! :) The kids were hilarious and they were fascinated by the silliest things: goldfish in the little ponds, squirrels running through animal pens, bugs crawling on the sidewalk, and all the coins in the crocodile’s pond. There were several funny quotes I overheard while we were checking out all the animals, but of course, I can only remember some of them…

My personal favorites:

*The snake’s whole body convulsed and my 4-year old buddy said, “I think he has the hiccups!”

*Me: “So, what do you think about the hippo?”

4-year old buddy: “I think he’s pretty fat.”

Me: “You’re right. He is pretty fat.” :)

*My 6-year old buddy: “The giraffe is following you, Miss Kylie. I think it likes you!”

Me: “Oh, maybe!”

4-year old buddy: “I think it wants to kiss me.”

We had a great day, and were able to enjoy many activities including snacking on a few different treats, feeding some birds, and petting the giraffes (my favorite part). I took way too many pictures, so I just have to share some of them with you! Don’t worry, I won’t put them all on here, but if you want to see more adorable children and fun animals, check out my zoo album on Facebook! –Just follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4466516195760.1073741829.1675440019&type=1&l=2ea688caef 

It’s hard to believe this next week is our final week of school! Time has flown by and I find myself wishing it to slow down so I can soak up as much time as possible here!! This next week will be a busy one as a team is arriving on Sunday to help out for part of the week and interns for the summer have already started to arrive. It’s that time of year when you have to finish report cards, have parent teacher conferences, pack up the classroom for the summer, get summer school things set up, and still teach meaningful lessons in the meantime. It’s going to be a busy week, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world!

I would appreciate prayers in this final week of school for the kids and for us teachers as well as we prepare to head back to the states and have to begin packing our stuff up for the trip home among everything else that is going on. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the pictures :)

The van ride to the zoo

Waiting to get in

Obsessed with the goldfish

Checking out the coins on the bottom of the crocodile pond

Taking a break

Petting the jirafa!

The all the students and the teachers

Semana Quince—Piano, Tonala, y Mi Cumpleaños

This past week was a good one! (What’s new?) Sunday, we celebrated Mother’s Day by following up our church Spanish worship service with some pizza back home. We all were able to squeeze in and sit at the table like a big, happy family. The food was delicious and it was fun to celebrate the wonderful mother these children have! Amy is indeed a blessing to us all!

Our school week was fairly normal and uninterrupted. The kids are staying focused overall, which is awesome as we now only have two weeks left of school. I hope that continues throughout the next two weeks as well, but we shall see! :)

On Friday afternoon, the kids had a piano recital. The older kids (1^st grade and up) have been taking piano lessons from Amber this year. They each play a song or two for us and it was super fun to get to see them show off all they have been learning! Amber put together a video of all that has happened this semester to show at the beginning of the recital and T.J. (one of the Acosta kids) led all of the kids in a few songs they’ve been learning in music class as the closer for the recital.-I had to steal a few pictures from others for this as I was holding a baby during the recital and couldn’t take my own pictures, but you’ll see them at the end.

Saturday, Jenny, Amber, Ling Di and I went into the city (Guadalajara) for a baby shower. It was a fun time of fellowship with the ladies from the church. After the shower, we went to Tonala and I got a little shopping done. It was a long, hot afternoon, but totally worth it! Before we went back to the city, Jenny and Amber took me out to dinner at a little Italian restaurant that was delicious! When we got back to Camichines, we had a girls’ night where we ate delicious snacks while watching a movie. It was a great start to my birthday weekend.

This morning, I woke up to a room with birthday signs that made me laugh and then walked downstairs into a delicious feast that was prepared by my two fellow teachers. Jenny and Amber made had cinnamon roll pancakes (yes, they tasted as amazing as they sound), eggs, orange juice, and gave me a beautiful new mug that was awaiting me on the table. We had a relaxing morning with a little extra time on our hands as we didn’t make it into the city for church. Instead I was blessed to watch last week’s sermon from BHBC online and just enjoyed some quiet time and a lazy day. I was blessed in the house by many signs made by little hands as well as a birthday celebration. I was serenaded, given gifts and lots of birthday wishes, AND Becky made me an ice cream cake! J It was a lovely day full of celebration and I feel so loved by those here and friends and family back home. I am so grateful for this past year of life that God blessed me with and I am excited to see what He has in store for me this year as I continue to serve Him and love others.

Piano Recital/Teacher Appreciation

Representing Camichines at the baby shower

Shopping at Tonala

Bday breakfast :) My new mug (from Tonala) and cinnamon roll pancakes!

One of the lovely signs...Check out the story below, it'll make more sense!

One of my students is convinced that I'm married and calls me MRS. Kylie. One night last week before bed, she described what my "husband" looked like and here's what she said, "He has pink eyes. His lips are...um, blue. And his hands are green! ...'Cause green is your favorite color."

Semana Catorce- Las Muchachas y El Equipo

(Week 14- The Ladies and the Team)

We had a busy and extremely productive week here in Camichines. A HUGE thank you to all of the guys from BHBC (my home church) who gave a week of their time to help move along several construction projects. The team of 12 arrived last Friday and worked hard all week from the very moment of their arrival, sun up to sun down. So many projects, big and bigger, were accomplished and we are so grateful for all they were able to get done!  Check out some pictures below of what they were able to get done in what will be the school rooms next year as well as the bedrooms on the second floor of the house!

Not only did this group do some incredible construction projects, but several also helped out in other ways. “Mr. Scripture” visited us and helped the kids memorize part of Psalm 34 (one of this month’s Bible challenges). Don (Amber’s dad) taught Bible, talked with the kids about the writing process and being an author, and even led us in a little “bind us together” at singing circle, which the kids loved! A few of the other guys helped teach P.E. one day as they are soccer experts and we are not!

We were able to join the team on a few excursions during the week. Sunday, Amber and I joined them on their “tour” of Guadalajara where we ate a huge lunch at Pollo Pepe, checked out the market and did a little shopping, and laughed a lot. We also joined them for a few dinners “out.” We went to La Gallina, a seafood restaurant, as well as the always enjoyable meal at Tortas.

Our school week was actually pretty normal aside from the occasional visitor for singing circle, morning message, and Bible. On Wednesday, we made a trip into the city with the kids. Instead of the ladies (las muchachas) coming here this month, we went to Guadalajara to see them. One of the families generously opened up their beautiful home to us and we learned all about Asian Amerians, enjoyed amazing food and even had a chance to swim in their pool. The kids loved every second of it and I can’t lie, I enjoyed soaking up the sun even though it meant having a kid or two holding onto my arms as flotation devices.

The team left yesterday morning and made it back home safely. We can cannot say "Thank you" enough to them for all of their hard work and accomplishments this week! 

Three weeks left of school. Three. That is a small, scary number. I call it small (for obvious reasons), but scary for a few less obvious reasons. My fear of the unknown—not knowing what comes next—and also scary in the sense that I have to say goodbye in just a little over three weeks.

On a lighter note, here are a couple funny quotes from the week:

*3 year old: “Is that guy coming?”

Me: “What guy?” (There are 12 extras here from the BHBC team)

3 year old: “Ummm, the one with the pants, and the shirt, and shoes…He plays the guitar and sings!”

Me: “Mr. Don?”

3 year old: “Yeah, him!”

Me: “Yup! He’s going to sing with us today!”

*6 year old: “I’m going to build you a dog house.”

4 year old: “I’ll build you a pig house.”

Me: “Okay, but where will I live?”

School construction before the team arrived

School construction after the team worked for 5 1/2 days

Hard at work

Cement

The team leveled and tiled and painted this room

Leveled and painted this room

Leveled and tiled this room

Leveled and tiled this utility room and brought up the washer and dryer!

Don singing with the kids

Don teaching Bible

"Mr. Scripture" (Phil) in costume!

"Mr. Scripture" helping the kids recite Psalm 34

The whole crew

Tres Meses

Another crazy and busy week here at Ranchito con Esperanza!

Sunday, we were able to celebrate Amber’s birthday with just the teachers (Amber, Jenny, and me), which was fun! Nothing super fancy: we had pizza and made strawberry and nutella crepes for dessert! A nice early birthday celebration. We even fit in a game of hand and foot (one of our favorites).

Monday was a fairly normal day of school. I was able to get in all of my lesson plans during the day, which is always a good thing! (You’d be surprised how often the schedule changes last minute as this week is a perfect example of…)

Tuesday, Amber’s birthday morning started a bit rough with a crazy bug experience and trips to the clinic and hospital, but the bug problem was solved. Just in time for the kids’ performance of a play that Becky (one of the Acosta daughters) wrote and Gracie (another daughter) directed. It was adorable and the kids did a great job. In the morning, I did my normal routine with my students calling them up group by group, but the other kids were downstairs reading/playing until Jenny came back. After the play and lunch, we were able to have an hour of school in the afternoon. Amber had an amazing owl birthday cake created by none other than Becky! Probably the cutest cake I’ve ever seen! (Check out the picture below!)

Wednesday was another normal day of school. After school we had Kid’s Club. The attendance this month was smaller than normal, but this week has been festival in Camichines where lots of games, activities, and food stands pop up in town. It’s hard to compete with free bulls! The kids who came really enjoyed it and we had fun with the smaller number of kids. There was even some face painting action going on, which the kids LOVED!

Thursday started as a normal day, but 30 minutes into the morning, we found out that some visitors were coming and wanted to play with the children. So, we did another hour of school and then, sent the kids down when the group arrived. By the time the group left, we only had time for an hour of the afternoon for school. The evening was fun though as we were able to take out the three students who completed April’s Bible challenge! The students were each given two Bible challenges to complete if they wanted to. The first option was to write out Psalm 86 or 139 and explain it to one of the teachers. If completed they received a treat from the prize box. The second option was to memorize one of the Psalms (86 or 139) and say it without help to one of the teachers by the end of the month. Many kids worked hard on this, but this month, our three oldest completed the challenge. Their reward was a night out with the teachers! We took them to Peter Piper Pizza (which is like the Chuck E. Cheese of Mexico). They had a blast eating pizza and breadsticks, drinking manzanita, playing games, earning tickets, and choosing their prizes! It was a fun night out with those three kids. So much fun to be able to spoil them a little for all of their hard work! They’re already getting started on May’s challenge! :)

Friday was a great day! We had a normal day of school for the most part. The team from our home church, Blythefield Hills Baptist Church (BHBC) arrived during PE and got to meet the kids. We finished our afternoon of school while the team got the tour of the property. After school, they came back and got to work right away. These guys are no joke and we’re so excited to see all that they will accomplish this week!

I can’t believe I’ve been here for over 3 months now. It feels like I just got here and at the same time that I’ve been here forever (in a good way)! The hard part of reaching this 3 month mark is knowing that in less than a month, I will have to leave. I’m doing my best not to think about that dreaded day that is coming where I’ll have to say goodbye to these kids, uncertain of a return. Instead, I’m trying to enjoy every moment, big and small, that I get to experience with them…A few more from my list of thanks moments this week:

• Being awoken by baby giggles
• Singing the wheels on the bus with the cutest little man        
• Getting called “Tía Kylie” by accident on a few occasions (Aunt Kylie—a status that interns receive after being here for at least 9 months)
• Spontaneous worship evening with Amber
• Hearing kids recite Psalms they’ve memorized
• Playing games and enjoying time with the 3 oldest kids
• The sounds of construction—volunteers from the BHBC team hard at work

The owl cake

The cast of the play

Having fun at Peter Piper

Proudly displaying some of their tickets! They loved the games!!

Enjoying the food.

Eucharisto y Unas Fotos

I finished a book about two weeks ago called, One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp. It was an amazing, thought provoking book that has truly challenged me to constantly be grateful and thankful for all that I have, experience and am learning. Eucharisto means "to give thanks." I have been learning to do this in all things, big and small, and am no where near where I'd like to be. But I am trying daily to give thanks in everything I am blessed with. I started making my own list of gifts and I thought I would share them with you all.

•  Sunsets over mountains full of brilliant colors, never the same
•  Baby giggles--You just can't resist the joy there.
•  Big hugs from little friends
•  The chorus of my name as I cross the yard
•  Fans!
•  Singing Phonics songs with my kindergarten table
•  The opportunity to be a part of a beautiful ministry
•  Playing in the yard with the kids
•  Singing "tehhhn" in unison with my favorite 3 year old 

I promised a few more pictures of the program from last Friday, so here they are! :)

Counting to 10

Singing songs

Grammar Jingles

...

Sentence Decomposition

Bible Poem

The whole class

Cosas Comicas

I thought I would mix things up a bit and share a few funny quotes from the children…

There isn’t a single day that goes by without a TON of laughter during school and after school. Kids say the funniest things sometimes, as I’m sure any teacher or parent can testify :)

Needless to say, I’ve got quite a collection of funny little quotes and stories from the beautiful children I get to teach and love every day. I have been so very blessed by my time here and I hope that in some way, these silly little quotes give you just a glimpse of the joy and love that I am surrounded by on a daily basis.

*Student: “I’m excited for tomorrow.”

Me: “For our compliment party?”

Student: “Yeah. And because it’s Thanksgiving!”

(Actually, it was Valentine’s Day, or Día del Amor y la Amistad)

*4 year old: “When I grow up, I want to be a real ballet Barbie…and a cowgirl.” (To Diego) “and someday, you will grow up like a king!”

*4 year old: “That’s not a bird, it’s a donkey! …You know why?”

Me: “Why?”

4 year old: “Someday donkeys will fly!”

*While reading a book one of the characters said they were going to play chess.

4 year old (sincerely): “Ah, I LOVE chess!”

Me (surprised): “Wow, I don’t even know how to play chess!”

4 year old: *thinks for a second* “I don’t either!”

*Visitor: “What’s your favorite food?” 

3 year old: “My favorite food is hot dogs and basketball”

*Newer Student: “Mrs. Kylie?”

3^rd grader: “She’s Miss…She’s not married!”

Newer Student: “She’s not? I thought she was.”

3^rd grader: “Nope. Not yet otherwise she would have brought her husband here with her!”

Newer Student: Oh, I thought she had kids!”

*1^st grader: “I thought I saw you in Mommy’s room.”

3^rd grader: “What? You thought you saw me in my mother’s womb?”

…Psalm 139 on the mind?!

*4 year old: “I’ve had 17 tacos already!...This is my second.”

*6 year old: “I want real snow. You know why?”

Me: “Why?”

6 year old: “So I can eat it!”

4 year old: “I want snow so I can build a snowman and a Barbie…(whispers) and a prince! Hehe.”

*4 year old: “Butterflies!” *running through dust and smiling*

Me: “No. That’s dust…”

4 year old: “Oh”

*4 year old: “Something stinks” *smells her feet* “I think it’s my feet.”

Me: “You  have stinky feet?”

4 year old: “No…it must be my shoes” *smells her shoes* “Yup, they smell like dirt.”

 

*5^th grader: “Maestra Kylie, your skin changed colors!” –Yes, I’m tan.

*6 year old: “I’m so excited because we’re almost done with the alphabet!” (Silence) “Aren’t you guys excited?!” (Silence and weird looks from the other kids) “I said aren’t you guys excited?!” (More silence)

Me: “I’m excited with you!”

6 year old: (to the rest of the table) “Uh, can’t you guys be excited with me?”

*Doing a lesson for SEP Math…

Me: “Cinco por dos.”

Abel: “Cien.”

Me: “No. Cinco por Dios….Dos!”

Yup, we all make mistakes…

*3 year old: “You make me funny!”

Me: “I make you laugh?”

3 year old: “No, you make me funny!”