At the End of the Internet Rainbow (Palau)
No internet, plus no time, equals no communication. Sorry about that, just a fact of life. Right now I am at Palau Mission Academy with the some of Yap’s finest SMs—Aila from Germany, former 3rd grade teacher; Alex from La Sierra (California), former 4th grade teacher; and Scott from PUC (California), former 8th grade teacher. We are preparing to do a small summer camp for two weeks. One minor detail is that no one has signed up so far. We’re not sure if we are excited about that or not, but I would feel kind of bad about getting a free trip to Palau without actually doing something here. They say it’s quite typical for people to just show up on the day and not register in advance, so I guess we’ll see. Either way, we have come up with a little camp program from scratch in the last few days. Pray for whatever is best. ☺
The last few weeks have been busy and challenging. Final exams with 2nd graders on the last week of school was better than it could have been, thankfully. The last day was ok, but one girl had a hard time, and I kind of felt bad about it afterward, even though she left ok. I guess I’m not here to fix anybody, but it’s hard to see some kids struggle so young, knowing they will most likely have a tough future ahead. But mostly, it was a pretty good day. I scheduled in all the activities they wanted to do all semester—drawing on the chalk board, playing with play-dough, making and flying paper airplanes, talking (screaming) at a “level 10” (usually we are at 2 or 3); racing; free-time; pictures…and an end-of-the-year party, supported by the parents. Those parents are so awesome. They even brought me a “Farewell” cake. Super sweet.
The next week was mostly full of good-byes to several SMs every other night at 2 in the morning, as well as cleaning my classroom, and graduations. I think last week I felt the most homesick I have since being in Yap. I guess it’s hard to see the “fellowship” broken up, and then realize I don’t even get to go home like most of them. Still, I am happy to be in Palau now, and it is much more relaxed than the last few months have been. Sorry this is kind of quick and rough-sketch, but it’s better than nothing. Blessings…
P.S. The picture is of the last day of school. The room was a mess. :)
Sooo....when are you returning to the States? I thought the end of the school year was it, but it sounds like you're staying on longer. Not that that's a bad thing!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finishing well. Hope we can walk again sometime, and you can tell me all about what you learned over there, and how it impacted your faith and faith-walk. Let me know when you're back! :o)
(P.S. - Love the pic! Especially the barefoot part. You look like a fun teacher!)
ReplyDeleteHey Cathy,
ReplyDeleteI am in Palau helping with a little summer camp program for a few weeks, then stopping over in Hawaii for a few days. Will be back home July 7, then moving out to California the first week of August to work with my brother. :) Hope we can catch up in July! Take care!