A Year in Review

Nehemiah 9: 6-8

“Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. 6 You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.

7 “You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham. 8 You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him... You have kept your promise because you are righteous."

June 10th

Last Friday, I finished up my first year teaching middle school at Crossroads Christian Academy in Panama. I had great closure with my classes, handing out some special recognitions and getting to affirm them one last time before we all head out for summer.

This morning, the CCA staff got together to reflect on God's goodness this year and praise Him together. Thank you to all of you who joined with us in prayer for multiple requests! God has answered in very specific and mind-blowing ways.

Here are some lessons God's taught me this year:

-Trust in Him and He will provide.

"Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

From providing a reliable car to drive to providing wisdom and words to communicate with students and parents through some tough situations, God has answered so many specific prayers this year. He knows our hearts, knows what we need before we ask Him. We can approach Him in confidence that He is faithful and He will do it.

-Many many lessons in humility. Also remembering to keep a sense of humor, whether in the classroom or in frustrating cross-cultural scenarios (ie: immigration, traffic, miscommunications)

It is impossible to accomplish this task without God. He is the only one who changes my students' lives and the only one who provides the strength and peace I need to carry out the work before me. I learned to rely on Him more, and as a result, saw more fruit (all the glory goes to Him!)

John 15:5

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

-The importance of working together as a Christian body to accomplish this work.

I was encouraged in multiple ways this year by my fellow teachers and members of Crossroads Church. Their affirmation was timely, and God appointed each of them to minister and pour into my life so that I would not lose heart. It was amazing to start every school morning with teacher devotions, joining together in one mind and spirit to lift up our students before the Lord.

Philippians 2:1-2

   "1Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."

-Patience and to listen more, especially to students who just want to be heard.

*The same lessons I was reminding the students of for each other, was a major lesson God wanted to teach me. Listen. Wait. Hold your speech for a moment and don't let your first thoughts come blurting out of your mouth. Let your speech and actions reflect Christ.

"If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Corinthians 4:11

 

"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13 NIV

-Pray intentionally expecting God to work!
Look for daily ways that God shows up! It could be in a conversation with a student or the way a student participates in class, scripture another staff member shares, or watching as 1 brave student  stands to his feet in chapel, compelled to adore Jesus with his all, while the rest sit slumped in their chairs.

Some pretty cool student comments this year. Teaching history has been particularly fun!:

-"Nothing good happens when people add stuff to the Bible. People just make up stuff and then it causes huge trouble for everybody."
-Daniel (in reference to the Catholic Church selling indulgences, also referred later to the Crusades, and the Great Schism)

-"Wow! God seems to have everything worked out! I mean, He knew that his followers would be persecuted and killed but that it would spread the news about Him to more parts of the world! Like all the way to Panama!"
 -Gaby (after learning about Titus and Nero's persecution of Christians)

-(During prayer time at the beginning of class) "Can you pray for the women in China? I heard that they mistreat the baby girls and if they live, they aren't wanted." -6th grader: totally getting the international perspective, the fact that we are one as brothers and sisters in Christ across the world! -Kathryn

-"Why don't people who are rich give their money to those in poverty? I mean, there's a much smaller percentage of people in the world who have a greater percentage of the wealth. Why don't they just give more money to the people who don't have any?" - Natasha's solution to global poverty

-"What does it mean when people say that they hear God's voice? How do you hear God?" -Jady

 God is at work! I am learning to pray for Him to allow me to see more evidence of this. Recording and sharing this news with others is also a mighty encouragement to us all to persevere.

As I look forward to summer and eventually next school year (teaching Middle School Social Studies and 6th-7th grade English), I can reflect back on the marvelous and memorable things that God has done. Continue to pray for CCA teachers, students, staff, and the rest of Panama!

God is faithful.

7th graders doing a presentation in class.

My faithful five!: Roots Bible Study lunch group--Gaby, Kathryn, Camila, J.J., Mateo

Abrazos de Malambo (Malambo hugs)

**Another article I wrote for the school newspaper.
(A glimpse into our Community Outreach program with the High Schoolers)

Abrazos de Malambo (Malambo hugs)
by Miss Diaz

Arriving to Malambo, we had no idea what to expect. The brightly colored buildings greeted us as school children in their uniforms watched us wide-eyed from the windows. A busload of high school freshmen, a couple teachers, and I unloaded into the parking lot and went in to talk with Sister Lourdes. The Sister welcomed us in with a wide smile and told us to “busque por los niños".

Soccer ball in tow, we made our way slowly down the steps to the playground area. It seemed deserted, but soon we heard chatter and cheery “Hola”s rang out as the girls approached us and introduced us to their homes. Our group split up, as the younger Malambo girls each grabbed the hand of a high schooler and began showing them around the property, to the pig and chicken farm, to the gymnasium, all over the place, and a small group of us sat in the cool of the porch of an older girls’ home.

At first, we sat there a little dumbfounded. How do you begin a conversation with someone who you’ve never met before? Someone who comes from a very different background than you, even though you live in the same country and attend school just 45 minutes apart?

Fortunately, the oldest girl in the group took charge and engaged us in easy small talk and introductions. Our high schoolers planned on teaching them a fun dance, but, in the end, it was the children of Malambo who taught us. After some deep belly laughing at our high schoolers’ made-up dance routine, the older Malambo girls looked at each other, and one ran upstairs to get her guitar. We sat in a circle and listened to them sing and play, joining in the song as we learned the lyrics. “Bendicion gloria poder y honra al Anciano de Dias sera.”

Here we were, worrying about what words to say to these kids, when all along, we needed to remember that God was sovereign. He deserved the power and the honor and the glory. We were not here at Malambo to show off our soccer skills or hang out with friends, but to glorify the Lord. Jesus Christ showed us His example by inviting the little children to come to Him. He shows us that sometimes all that’s necessary is to sit by a child’s side and listen close enough to her little heart to hear her true desires: To be loved, affirmed, chosen, accepted, a part of a family.

Afterwards, our group exchanged stories on the bus about the Malambo kids we had met, and we prayed for them. Some of our students had even spent time in a house where they care for toddlers diagnosed with AIDs. The freshmen described how they walked in the door and stood there observing the runny nosed boys and the sleepy-eyed girls.

For Cane, crossing this threshold into the AIDs house was stepping way far out of his comfort zone. But the spell that froze Cane in a state of uncertainty was broken as soon as one of those tiny boys ran up to hug him around the knees. The little boy looked up at Cane without any fear, tilting his head upward and imploring attention from this towering high schooler. The expression on his face was pleading, seeming to ask: “Will you love me?”

Every month, our group returns to Malambo to answer that simple question.

Aire y Agua

(Air and Water)

May 7th
We were in the middle of our after school work-out, when another teacher walked by and delivered the news: There was no school tomorrow! and the next day and the next! Panama's Ministry of Education had closed all schools from Wednesday-Friday to help save electricity and energy in the country.

I felt several emotions all at once:

• Torn: Because we had finally gotten clicking along in the pace of school again (after a long Labor Day weekend) and needed to push on to the end of the year. How was I going to make everything fit?
• Confused: Because why would closing schools be the best reaction to an energy crisis. Also how would our back up plan of giving out assignments online work when students were without electricity and therefore without internet?
• Celebratory: Because what teacher doesn't enjoy three unexpected days off?!

Prone to leap into the car and drive off on a new adventure when given the opportunity, I flipped through different trip options in my mind. However, having planned a normal week, including babysitting and other commitments, I decided it best that I stick around town.

The days off were wonderful in: a) getting lots of needed/procrastinated work accomplished (no excuses!), b) spending quality time with people, c) reading/relaxing, and finally having time to get my driver's license paperwork started!

Then, all too suddenly, Monday back at school arrived. But it was a school day like no other.
1. Students/teachers could wear shorts.
2. We taught with our classroom lights off (although our projector/technology was okay-just limited) 3. There was no A/C. Add a couple fans to the growing murmur of 22 seventh graders as they're trying to catch their fly-away papers and you get the picture of my class on Monday morning.

That said, we prayed and PRAYED for rain, for the energy crisis to be relieved, and for good attitudes for us all (teachers included).

Tuesday came and still no rain. We had a few extra hours with the A/C, but rooms were still stifling and this had a comatose effect on my 8th graders. My 6th graders had to persevere through it in their Rome/Greek outfits as they presented their Ancient Greece/Rome museum to the CCA student body and their parents. I couldn't have been prouder; what troopers!

Wednesday-There had been some slight showers, but not enough to fill up the reservoirs near Chiriqui where the rain was really needed. At least it was a positive sign.
We taught with lights off but had more time with A/C; or at least the school got very creative with how they conserved our use of it. This crisis is almost a laughing matter, except that we're waiting each day from news from MEDUCA about what our school needs to do next and that we are at their beck and call.

Thursday--I play a very mean joke on my 7th graders involving the water crisis; all meant to teach a very important history lesson! They'll never forget it!

Friday--I explain the purpose of the "teacher prank," and my 7th graders gradually forgive me as they start to realize all the connections their experience had to the start of the Protestant Reformation.
More rain! More A/C! We're all still in shorts.

Saturday-Sunday: We are still conserving electricity and air but it is raining more and more frequently, and we all pray that Rainy Season is finally upon us. We are so glad not to be at school; ice cream is served after the evening church service.

5/20 Monday: I bring Popsicles to my lunch Bible Study group (Roots) as a cool treat. A/C is on and things seem almost back to normal! We decide to press on to the end of the school year and pray for no further interruptions or crises!!

Update: 5/27 School mandates that students return to regular uniform dress. Crisis is averted, and it is pouring rain at least twice a day now. Praise the Lord!

One student carried a stand-up fan with him to every class during the days with limited A/C.
 I told him it was an honor to meet his "biggest fan." 

Ancient Greece/Rome Museum!

Here's an article I wrote for the school newspaper about my 6th graders' Ancient Greece/Rome Museum: 
*What is not mentioned is that we hosted the museum on a day we had limited A/C, in just so happens the hottest room in school. It was sweltering, but parents and staff came to the rescue in donating fans and even passing out ice cold sodas to the persevering presenters. I was amazed how my 6th graders maintained a positive attitude and stuck a smile on their face as they enthusiastically shared their information with the lower grades. What a lesson to teach us all!

Check out the pictures on Shutterfly!

Greece and Rome Make CCA Home
by Miss Diaz

Have you ever seen Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Caesar Augustus all in the same room?
I had the opportunity to get to know all of them, as well as do some major sightseeing of ruins in Ancient Greece and Rome. How you ask? By visiting the 6th grader's Ancient Greece/Rome museum!

During the month of April, the sixth grade Ancient Civilizations class worked hard researching and designing their museum exhibit projects, and on Tuesday, May 15th, they had the opportunity to act as tour guides and share their exhibit with the CCA community. In just one hour and forty minutes, almost the entire CCA student body had the chance to share in the Ancient Greece/Rome Museum!

Topics covered included:
-Roman gods/goddesses
-Greek gods/goddesses
-Olympic games
-Julius Caesar
-Greek pottery
-Roman aqueducts
-The Parthenon
-Peloponnesian Wars
-Roman soldiers/centurions
-Circus Maximus/chariots
-Caesar Augustus
-The Colosseum
-Trojan War
-Alexander the Great

Each student was particularly challenged with making a Biblical connection with his or her topic. Diego Barrios spoke of how competitors underwent months of training before the Olympic games, similar to how we must run the race of faith with perseverance (Hebrews 12:1). Ashwini Asnani, Gabriela Gutierrez, and Kathryn Britton talked about how we worship only 1 God, but the Greeks and Romans made up a lot of "gods" to fit different purposes and explain natural phenomena.


When talking about philosophy, Emilio Baeza remarked how God is the only true source of wisdom, and all our knowledge comes from Him (Proverbs 2:6). Mateo Betancur highlighted the similarities in pottery making and how God is our potter and molding us into His image (Isaiah 64:8). 

Christian Olarte shared his constructed Colosseum, beautiful in design but designed for a cruel purpose. He went on to explain that the harsh punishments and persecution of the early Church by the Roman Empire was meant for evil, but God redeemed this tragedy through scattering believers all over the empire and spreading the Good News of the Gospel to the Gentiles. So eventually, we could come to know Jesus as our Savior today!

There was a lot to learn from our wise 6th grade presenters! Great job everyone!