-the amount of time I’ve been back in the good ole U S of A.-the amount of time I’ve had to process the whole crazy year of 2010.-the amount of time I’ve wondered over and over if last year was just a dream.-the amount of time I’ve had the opportunity to take a HOT shower each day while the countless lives I encountered last year barely have enough water to drink, let alone bathe in.-the amount of time that the passion in my heart has grown even greater for widows, orphans, and the countless lives being trafficked each and every day.-the amount of times that justice and love are being spoken in my heart over and over again.-the amount of time I’ve wondered what to do next with my life.-the amount of time I’ve been able to eat what I want, when I want it-something I take for granted so often.-the number of days I’ve been able to run and buy a shirt, or a scarf..or wondered what I’ll get for Christmas…so easily brought back into the American consumerism.
-the amount of days my heart has longed to hug a child from the Ugandan orphanage I visited.-the number of days that I catch myself thinking about some event or time that happened over the entire span of last year.-the number of days that I’ve realized I’m the same person that left on the World Race, but with different things awakened in my heart.
The past year really has flown by. It seems like just yesterday I was landing in New York getting to see my sweet family for the first time in 11 months. To say I had some culture shock coming home would be an under statement. It definitely took awhile for me to get back in the swing of things. As I look back on the past 2 years, I can totally see how the Lord has been working in my heart to bring to the place I am today. I’ll give a brief summary….
Before I left on the race, I was never really a kid person. I just never was. I wasn’t really looking forward to the kid aspect of the race either. However, the Lord had completely different plans. In each country my team traveled to, my name was the easiest for the kids to remember…sooooo that led to them running beside our bus or van yelling my name repeatedly. This began the wear on my heart starting in month 2 of the race… and the rest is history.
Now fast forward a few months. I come home to no job, so my mom recommends that I start subbing at the school she teaches at (and the school where I grew up), Shannon Forest, so I agree. I ended up getting a long-term sub position in a K-4 class, and I absolutely loved it! I don’t think that would have been the case pre-race. ha! I subbed from February
-May and then worked in their summer camp program. I also got an internship with a local church here working with their youth group…again working with kids (just older!) I loved that too and still volunteer and co-lead a small group of girls there with my dear friend Lansing (pictured).
Just over a month ago, Shannon Forest approached me about a grant they had gotten through United Way. The grant was for a program called First Steps that they were going to start at the school. It is a 3 and 4-year-old combined classroom with 12 students. They asked me to be the teacher!! This program is to better help children and their families get ready for kindergarten. The program is basically run just like a pre-school classroom with a snack and lunch being provided for the children. The main difference is that this program really encourages parent/family involvement so my aide and I do home visits each afternoon. Each student in my class has to have 1 home visit a week. This enables us to see how they play/work in their home environment and to get the parent(s) involved in their education. I got my students about 3 weeks ago. I have a precious group of kids and an amazing aide (I don’t know what I would do without her!).
