Ulster American Folk Park

March 18, 2008

Tuesday March 18 we headed for Ballymena Northern Ireland to visit friends. This was my 5th time to go and Nolan's 6th time. Usually we are going to do mission work, but this time it was just to hang out and enjoy Ballymena and the surrounding area. But of course we were hoping to run into some of the kids from the Dunclug Estates, where we have done mission work for 5 years

Because we did so much over spring break, I decided to split up the blog into parts. The first being the Ulster American Folk Park.

The first day we walked around Ballymena. The second day we decided to go on an adventure to Omagh. Omagh was where the last bombing in the Troubles took place. U2 often makes references about it in their concerts. But instead of visiting a memorial, we went to the Ulster American Folk Park...recommended by the tourism agency. The park was set up as real-life town in the 1800s in Ireland. You could walk through homes and farms with live animals. In each place there was a person dressed in 1800s attire to give you some brief history. Then the park took you to the "New World", where it showed the history of how the Irish people journeyed to America. This was interesting to Nolan and me, being that both of our ancestery comes from Ireland. In fact, I even saw my maiden name on a sign. Overall this tourist adventure was worthwile and we thoroughly enjoyed it! I think we just felt some kind of connection because we thought about our ancestors taking this journey at some point in their lives.

Pajama Party Serenaders

It is Friday night 9:15 and we hear the doorbell ring. We never have visitors; a lot of people don't even know where our new apartment is located. I answered the phone to downstairs, and I am greeted on the phone by 6 middle school girls who wanted to talk to Mr. Lucas. I put him on the phone and they break into the song COFFEE, which they are learning in choir. It is so adorable. Of course I had to grab the camera and get some pics and video of them. We watched them from our window for awhile and then headed downstairs to see them. They were in the pajamas and were carrying pillows, and the funny thing I was also in pajamas...my strawberry shortcake ones. The girls loved seeing a 33 year old in Strawberry Shortcake pajamas.

Moments like that really make being here special. As I listened, I thought how much it is a blessing to be part of the ministry here at BFA. Moments like this make the homesickness, cultural/language frustration, and classroom stress worth it all...to know we have a part in educating these students, when their families are serving and ministering to hurting people all around the world.

Pray for safety as students head home for spring break. We have students flying all around the world by themselves. Also, pray for the 77 students and 16 staff/teachers leaving this weekend on mission trips. Pray for their safety and the serving/ministry they will be doing this week.

Mission trips include:
Poland
Rawanda and Burkino Faso, Africa
Duisburg, Germany
Glasglow, Scotland

Pray for us as we leave Tuesday for Northern Ireland. We will be meeting with an IMB missionary in Dublin and seeing about mission opportunities there and in Northern Ireland. We also will be visiting with all of our friends in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, which we are very excited about!
Stay tuned for video footage of the girls singing...not uploading at the moment.....need tech help!

Dancing Queen

Okay maybe I am not a dancing queen, but I love to dance. God may not have blessed me with music abilities, but He has blessed me with rhythm, or what I have been told anyway. Before moving to Germany, I had been taking Oriental Folkloric dance (better known as bellydancing, a word coined by the Europeans and Americans). It was one of my outlets outside of teaching, and I made some wonderful friends through it. I was hoping to find some classes while in Germany, knowing that one of the best dancers lives in Germany, Leyla Jouvana. So I did some research and found a Leyla Jouvana workshop in Basel, only 20 minutes from where I live. One Saturday afternoon in February, about 20 others and I spent 3 hours shimmying til we couldn't shimmy anymore with Leyla. It was fabulous, and I got to know some Germans and Swiss girls. The fun part was I happen to be the only English speaking person, so Leyla had to translate for me....and sometimes would forget. But some of the girls knew English and would whisper the dance step to me. It was such a fun afternoon. Here is a pic of me and Leyla, and her her husband who does all the drumming. This pic is taken after the 3 hours of dancing and you could tell, sweaty and tired.

Update on My Students

Now, this blog entry is an update about the prayer requests regarding that class of students who are not easy to work with. Things seem to be slowly getting better. They are a little more calm these days, but still have their moments. One particular student still gives me a little attitude, but it seems to not be so bad...or I just have learned to deal with it in a better way.

Thank you to all you have prayed for me. I feel your prayers every day while I am here on the mission field. Continue to pray for us as we make a decision regarding next year. We still do not have an idea of what to do. However, we are seeking help from wise and knowledgeable missionaries in making our decision.

May the Lord bless you as you continue to support us in prayer and encouragement

And Even More Pics....

Missy and Austen swing dancing...to the right are 2 of my students: Noah and Emily

Josh Crooks....this is a typical glance from Josh. He is also a student of mine and drummer for the BFA worship band

Daniel Choi, another student of mine who plays base guitar for the BFA worship band. He was also a student of Nolan's

12th grade students who are known to be quite athletic at the school, as you can see in the picture. They are peforming a scene from the movie 300

Better Candlelight Pics..Please See!

"La Bamba" sung and performed by Nolan, Meagan, Gena (Spanish teacher), and Hannah
Beautiful Korean students at BFA
The dining hall
Christian and "Rosa", actually Stephanie Miller, another student of mine who is a great actress. We will probably see her in movies, TV, or Broadway someday.
Part of the Swing dancers and performers

I have a brand new camera that is great, but there is nothing like those fancy professional cameras like Michele Pheonix uses....so Michele let me have some pics from her fancy camera. Also, she had a student take pics up close, where I was sitting at the last table in the back for the dinner. Please enjoy the pictures. I copied ones that were mostly of my students and friends.

Students.....

All the high school students are leaving in a few moments for high school retreat, and they seem really excited. They will be staying in a castle, so I know they are excited about that. The retreat is a time to hang out with friends, but also a time to dive into the Word. A guest speaker and musician will be there, and each student will be placed in a small group with a leader from the school. Nolan and I opted to not go...I actually needed today to catch up on grading and lesson planning. A lot of teachers are taking advantage of this day off :) They had too many adults sign up anyway, so I didn't feel so bad when I heard of this.

This morning I woke up and just began reflecting on the life of my students. I have one class of mostly boys who have been giving me trouble this year. They are new students to BFA and they all live in the same dorm, and seem to be best friends...so all of these factors have not made it easy in the classroom. I have prayed and struggled this year in what to do with these boys. I have talked to the administration and other teachers. I can't seem to pinpoint whether they are just being typical 17 year old boys, or is there something deeper within them. As a teacher, I just ask that they be respectful, but this is a challenge for them. And it seems to be getting worse. I know a few other teachers are having trouble as well. So my prayer is that this weekend would be a time of growth for them--and me as I stay home and reflect. May God intervene in this situation.

This was on my heart today and I felt like I needed to share on my blog so people could be praying.