It Rains in the Desert?

Over the past week the weather here has changed...drastically. Someone told me that every year during Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) that it rain...the Jews believe it's a way that God shows his acceptance of their sacrifice at Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). Well...whether this is true or not..I do not know...but I do know that we had about 2 great days of rain this week. It was wonderful...and when it rains it also seems to boost everyone's spirits. Well..with the rain has come a cooler climate. Wonderful! My favorite season is autumn with the leaves changing colors, cooler weather, and the smell in the air. Now..the weather does change but the leaves and the smell doesn't. This is when I miss home the most. It's just a beautiful time to be in Georgia.

The past week has been a fun-filled one. I got to spend time at a birthday party. Birthday's are a big thing here..people go all out. If you're a teenage girl you have to buy new clothes, get your hair done, and make sure you have the right location for the party. Luckly, I went to my student, Taleen, sister's birthday party. We had pizza, cake, and lots of snacks. She's in 3rd grade so you may see some faces you recognize.


On Saturday I went with a couple of friends to Taybeh, a small Christian village, just outside of Ramallah. They were having a festival and we thought it would be nice to attend. There were a mixture of people from all over the world who came to attend this festival in Taybeh. I felt almost at home. The festival had arts and craft booths set up and a lot of vendors selling food. There were also different performances from Palestinian groups, one being a debka group. Debka is Palestinian folk dancing which entails a lot of intricate foot-work. It's very enjoyable to watch.

The remainder of the week has been school as usual. The 5th graders make my days fly by with their excellent behavior and willingness to learn. The 6th graders still have a long way to go, but they will eventually catch on. I believe it. God is doing great things in both of these classes. The 5th graders are going to be mighty warriors for God. They know how to put on their armor now! Talking about the armor of God has been really enjoyable for the students and for me. I'm sad that we're moving on to other topics, but I'm sure we'll be back. On Wednesday we were treated to a show of a local Palestinian group who performs for kids. It's all in Arabic so most of it I did not understand, but the kids translated for me and said that it had to do with manners, cleanliness, and just some life skills. Unfortunately, my 5th graders weren't too much entertained, because, you know, they are at that age where they are so cool. But they were very well behaved and did laugh at a lot of jokes. I was so proud of them. I just want to hug them all to death. :)

We are doing visa applications again this week. Please pray for God's favor with the ministry of interior on these. God has put us here and we know He's going to keep us!

I also received some supplies from America. A group of teachers in Adel wanted to support my cause so here are some of the supplies that they sent. It totally made my kids day. They thought it was Christmas or something. Thanks so much for investing in the lives of these children!!