Time Flys When You're Having Fun

I can't believe that it's almost May. Tonight I'm sitting here with Michele (who will be my roommate next year) grading for Progress Reports. Only 5 more weeks and school is over. It's so bittersweet. I'll miss my kids, but at the same time looking forward to seeing family and friends. Got big plans this summer at home, Beans & Strings, will probably ask me to leave! haha Looking forward to the simple pleasure of driving my Yaris as well. Oh how I miss her some days.

Man, it's a lovely night here in Beit Jala. It was a very hot day, but when the sun goes down all of that changes. The wind is whipping in the windows and through the halls making that enjoyable whistling noise mixed with the swirls of the call to prayer for the Muslims. I love it! It will be very nostalgic some day, probably even this summer while I'm at home.

The weeks have been moving by at a brisk pace. Not sure what all I've missed sharing with you. A few Sunday's ago two of my girls, Taleen and Reina, had their conformation at the Catholic Church, the Nativity Church to be exact. It was when they took the classes and made the commitment to be a part of the Catholic Church. (A majority of the Christians in Palestine or either Catholic or Greek Orthodox) Jen and I went to send our love and best wishes. They looked like little angels. The service was long and hard to understand (it was all in Arabic), but it was beautiful to watch the ceremony take place. Also, Paul and Christin (high school teachers) had their first baby two weeks ago, a little boy name Ezra James. Mabrook!!!

Each week this year on Thursdays the 5th graders go down for a reading time with the 1st graders. We've all enjoyed it completely. It's something they all look forward to doing each week. We have all found new friends with the first grade. They are a bright group of kids who really enjoy reading. They love listening to the stories and then answering questions that the 5th have created on their book. Lily does an excellent job with them. I'm so glad that she and Jen created this opportunity for these kids last year. It helps the 1st graders with their reading, but it also allows the 5th graders to be mentors to the younger ones. I'm so proud of them. I've really been pushing them hard this year. I want them to excel at everything they do. I wish I could only motivate the 6th grade in the same way. It seems like nothing I do or have done has really influenced them. I wish that I could have made learning as enjoyable to them as the 5th grade. It was also Jen's birthday. Ra'ed did a great job surprising her with not one but two birthday cakes! Thursdays are just great days!

Last Sunday I went with Ra'ed and Jen to Hebron. Hebron is both an Israeli and Palestinian city. It has been the cause of many uproars and disagreements. This has to do with the tomb of the Patriarchs, Abraham and Isaac. Both the Jew and the Muslims claim this one site as a holy site. For both, one of their top 5. Well, we weren't going to visit the tomb, but we were going furniture shopping for their new apartment. It was a very fun day. It always is with those two. They did find some things they liked and on the way home we stopped by at Hebron glass factory, where Jen got to try her hand at making some of the cups. Be warned: She isn't a professional. It takes skill to get that outline right. The owner remembered me from a few months back and had a mug with my name written in Arabic waiting for me. It was definitely for me because Lindsey is not an Arabic name, a lot of people actually have a hard time pronouncing it here.

On Saturday the elementary school took a field trip to Nablus. We went to the amusement park called Mega Land. It was a lot of fun. The kids had a blast. It was a very small park so they were free to run around with a few friends. It was fun to join them on the rides. We had to go through Wadi el Nar (the Valley of Fire) to get to our 2 1/2 hour destination. I was blessed to
  be on a bus with only the 1st and 5th grade. Man, that was a great ride. We turned on the High Seas Adventure tunes and sang our hearts out. While at the park, I hung out with some of the 3rd grade girls who showed me how to buy sun glasses and which ones looked best on my face type. (It was over joying when they asked me if i was going to teach them in 5th grade today). Also, had some fun and shared some laughs with the 5th grade boys and girls. Those kids are too silly. It's definitely going to be hard if I don't teach them next year. We had to stop in the city of Nablus for kanafeh, because Nablus is known to have the best kanafeh in all of Palestine.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanafeh )On the way home I had the humbling experience of being a "mother." Most of the 1st graders had fallen asleep on the bus and a few of the 5th graders, so we had to go wake them up. Which was hard job because those first graders were dead tired. One little boy, Richar, was especially hard to wake up. He was so cute!! I went back and picked him up and he starting talking to me with his eyes closed saying he couldn't get up. TOO TOO CUTE! All the 1st graders are!

Finally me, please pray for strength and wisdom on this last month of school. The kids will be getting antsy soon and it will be harder to teach them as the weather gets hotter. Also, as time comes for me to go home and fly back sometimes I have some anxiety problems with flying. God hasn't given a spirit of fear! I know that, it doesn't mean that it doesn't creep back in! I'm already praying against it and I hope you will join me too. I'll actually be going back with the group (Please dont say anything to my grandmother...we're surprising her! ) so that will make the ride more pleasant and Michele is supposed to be booking her ticket where we meet in ATL. and fly back together. Speaking of Michele we have a long weekend this week and we're cutting loose in Tel Aviv to the beach! Woo Whoo!! I'll update you all soon on that adventure! Thank you all for all your prayers and support! Many blessings!