Top 9 of December 2009

Once again i've realized that it has been over a month since i've posted. Sorry! Our internet has been snail-like and we've been entirely too busy with festivities around Bethlehem. Therefore; i'm going to wrap up December 2009 with a countdown of the top 9 things of the month! Also..i may throw in a little of 2010...just so you're prepared!

Number 9: Mr. Barrett's 7th grade Christmas Party: B/c of the 7th graders wonderful behavior this 9 weeks Barrett had them over for a Christmas dinner of chicken pot pie, homemade sugar cookies, and a little white elephant gift exchange! Teachers were invited to take part in the activities! It was wonderful!

Number 8: Teacher's Christmas Party: Every year all the teachers celebrate the season with a Christmas party. It's always held a a restaurant called Abu Eli, which belongs to one of my student's family. We always eat too much food then almost get sick b/c we've eaten so much and all the laughing. This year i got to sit close to some of the Kindergarden teachers and nearly wet my pants. We had a great time playing Chinese Christmas and bingo (thanks to Ms. Lilly).

Number 7: Being Tourists: Sometimes it's just fun to be a tourist. For four days 5 of us girls were tourists! It was totally fun. Larua, Christina, Michele, Beth (Michele's sister) and I traveled all around northern Israel. We stopped in a the craft bazaar in Tel Aviv, hiked on Mt. Karmel, explored the Golan Hights, enjoyed the Galilee, and spent the nights in Nazareth. I have to say Nazareth is one of my favorite places in Israel. We stayed at the Fauzi Azar Inn...they were wonderful! I will definitely be staying there again. It was wonderful just to get away from life here in Beit Jala and take a break to relax.

Number 6: My Birthday: While my birthday was in November it was a great celebration. I woke up to a decorated apartment and a homemade cake made by Jen. Then that evening Ra'ed and Jen surprised me by taking me to Stars and Bucks (newly opened in Bhem) for coffee! It was a birthday not to be forgotten.

Number 5: 6th grade trip to Jerusalem: I've made it a tradition to take all the 6th graders to Jerusalem if they have good behavior. We go to various holy sites and tour the old city. This time there were only 8 of the students who were eligible to come; but it was an amazing trip. I really enjoy telling them the significance of the Western Wall or the Holy Sepulcher. Also, this year we got to go to the Garden Tomb. I was excited when many of them said it was their favorite place that we visited.

Number 4: New Year's Eve: We had a wonderful party to ring in the New Year. B/c the Palestinians have their permissions to leave the West Bank; Ra'ed had the wonderful idea that we should go bowling! So we did! We're very competitive and i'm proud to say that I WON! Ra'ed got a little too confident therefore i was able to beat him easily.  After bowling, we went back to our apartment and had snack and rung in the New Year by singing worship songs. It was a very intimate way to bring in the New Year!

Number 3: Christmas Day: Most of the teachers did not go home for Christmas this year, therefore we planed our own special Christmas. We started the day opening gifts in our own apartments and by making a special Christmas breakfast. Then around 3 we all gathered together for Secret Santa and a great big Christmas spread. We had two guys in from Cairo who are friends with Barrett so they joined us as well. (They were here for 3 weeks it's really strange that they are not here now). We all made special dishes and ate, ate and ate. I made hash-brown casserole which i was very proud of. It was so great to have all of us together like a family. It made not being with our families a lot easier!

Number 2: Elementary Christmas Program: Last year the seniors organized a school-wide Christmas program. This year it seemed as if they weren't going to do that, so i took it on as a responsibility. While there was a lot of chaos...there were also great God moments. All students from 1st-6th grade preformed on stage for their parents one Wednesday night. We had kids singing, dancing, saying skits and poems. It was a joy to watch. There were also 4 languages present in the program: English, Arabic, Spanish, and Korean. 3rd graders stole the show for me while they sang He is Lord by Hillsong. The presence of God came down in that building. I hope others were touched by it. My 5th graders sung Joy to the Word, Es Por Ti (in Spanish), and He Reigns (dressed up from all different nations). It was so enjoyable! I hope to be sending you a video of the performances soon!

Number 1: VISAS!!! On Christmas Eve we got our visas! God really answered prayer. Right now they are only single-entry; that means once we leave the country they expire..but we are working with a lawyer now on multi-entry visas so we'll be able to return next year. We're also working with the same lawyer about our visas for next year. It looks as if there will be a option for us to stay! We're leaving it in God's hands. If He truly wants us here...we know He'll work out His own way! That's what's amazing about our God...everything is in His timing!

Thank you all for all your prayers and support. I can't believe that the year is 1/2 way done already. Time seems to fly when you are truly enjoying what you're doing!