Christmas Program

In preparation for Christmas my class helped put up decorations in the chapel since that's my classroom during the week. It was a group effort to put up the tree last week and decorate it with 8 different opinions flying. :O) My class was also put in charge of building the stable for the Christmas program. We were able to use some branches that someone in the neighborhood had put out for the trash pick up. The stable came together nicely and added a great visual. We hung a green cloth behind the branches to cover up the piano - it was a nice finishing touch.

Friday night the Christmas program went well. There was a large crowd and the kids were excited. One student almost fainted toward the end of the performance. Another student had an upset stomach and threw up during the reception afterwords. Overall, the program went well and seemed to be well received by the parents. The teachers were pleased with the night and glad for the opportunity to have the gospel clearly presented.

Sickness continues to spread through the school. I had another 2 students out sick today. I think I've had almost every student out sick in the last 2 weeks. I'm very thankful that I continue to be healthy. Just 3 and half more days to go! Can't wait to be home with family and friends to celebrate Christmas!

Circus - Lisbon - Boca do Inferno

The past 3 days have been filled with lots of exciting outings. First of all Sunday night I was invited to go to the circus. My friends got free tickets and had an extra. The Victor Hugo Circus was in Lisbon. It didn't include lions, tigers and bears but I did see lions, elephants, and horses along with multiple acrobats, a trapeze artist, clowns, and motorcycle daredevils. My favorite act was one of the acrobat groups that did some amazing stunts!

Monday morning I got a phone call telling me that school was canceled because half of our teachers (4 out of 7 full time staff) were sick with the flu. I had to make phone calls to the students on my phone tree list to notify them that school was canceled. My roommate and I decided to do some exploring in downtown Lisbon. We rode the train in and spent a few hours window shopping and taking in the scenery.

Today was a National Holiday and another day off of school. Gina, my roommate took me to see Boca do Inferno which translates to "The Mouth of Hell". It's about a 3 mile walk from our apartment past downtown Cascais along the coast. The water crashes inland and has carved out some caves leaving a cliff of rocks. The water is a beautiful greenish blue color.

Tomorrow is back to school - it was nice to have an extra long weekend. So far I've managed to stay healthy - hoping that continues with all the sickness going around! Pray for the kids and teachers to be healthy for the Christmas program this Friday night!

Thankful Thoughts...

I had a nice Thanksgiving even though it didn't work out quite the way I had planned. I really enjoyed having the time off from school to rest my leg and be away from the normal day routine. It was quiet around the apartment, but I know that's what God had planned for me. I enjoyed spending my time reading, watching TV, eating, and of course sleeping!

I am thankful for many things even being in a different place away from family this year. I'm thankful for God, for my family, for friends (new and old), for how God provides, the gift of laughter, encouragement that comes in different ways, enjoying the beautiful sunshine, the gift of music, and for my health. Having to use crutches for the last 10 days made me realize just how much the ability to walk is something that I take for granted. Even though I've experienced so many new things in the last 5 months I know that God has been the one thing that hasn't changed and that gives me stability, confidence, and a rock to depend on.

I'm looking forward to celebrating Christmas with family and friends in Rochester. Two weeks from today I'll be flying home. There's a lot going on at school in the next 2 weeks. Our Christmas program is this coming Friday. The Christmas program is a great opportunity for us to share the Christmas story with unsaved parents. You could be praying for that to impact hearts and lives. There are other end of the year events the following week including the teachers vs. students soccer game. The kids still want me to play in the soccer game on Dec. 15th, I said I'd wait and see how my leg is doing. I've been off crutches for the last 2 days and trying to take it easy. So far so good - my leg is quite the rainbow of colors though (I decided not to put a picture of it up on my blog so I don't gross anyone out). :o) Happy December to everyone!