Forge Ahead!

I just got home from the Women of Faith Conference at Philips Arena in Atlanta. And I can only say that it was exactly what my weary heart, mind, and soul needed. 16,000 women worshiped, cried, and laughed together. I spent quite a bit of time talking heart-to-heart with an amazing lady named Ann (from my sister's church). It was like drenching my heart with refreshing rain just being able to share with her, be encouraged, and then to listen and do some encouraging myself. We all have a story that makes us who we are, and who we are is what God has made us to be, for some grander purpose. So sharing in eachother's stories and learning from examples, and being strong arms like Aaron and Hur holding Moses up when he became weak is what true fellowship is all about. It's a little over three months since I've been back in Georgia, and during that time, I had spent much time feeling alone spiritually, if that makes any sense. So I can see just how wonderful God's grace is to have given me this time. So I can't express just how thankful I am that I had this opportunity.


If you have the chance to go to this conference, I suggest you do. You won't regret it. :)

There have been so many things going on in my life since I returned from Africa. It's amazing how quickly and vastly things can change. My new job at the public high school is a challenge; so many students, so much paperwork, so different from a small missionary school. I have about 140 students in my English 9 and 10 classes (ranging from first-year freshman to 2rd year seniors). The building is huge and there are 4 or 5 assistant principals - I'm sure my director at the school in Cameroon would love to have that many assistants! Some days it is frustrating, annoying, depressing, and just plain hard. But then there are days and moments where the students listen and learn and enjoy my classroom, and it balances it all out somehow. Living and teaching in Cameroon has given me so much confidence that the Lord has prepared and equipped me to teach. There has yet to be a day where I feel insecure or intimidated in front of my students. And I love that I can remember their names and greet them every time they come in my room.

The second biggest thing that's happened is that I bought a home! It may sound like a huge thing... ok, so maybe it is. But I'm so excited about it! I needed a place closer to the school (especially with gas prices these days) and the apartments just really weren't good options for me. So for the past month, I've been working to renovate a nice little home close to my sister's family and the school. My parents, siblings, and a couple friends have been so helpful - I couldn't have gotten it done without them! We've painted, patched, cleaned, and shopped for that house. Finally, I'm mostly moved in and ready to inhabit!!

It's all so exciting and new, but I'm so thankful for all of it, each moment. No matter how stressful and hectic things have been in my 3 months back in the States, I have peace knowing that I've done my best to follow and honor God with each step and decision. So I can't wait to see what may happen in my life next!

Hopefully, I will be posting photos of my pretty place soon!

Sorry it's been so long since I've written. It has been a whirlwind of events in the month that I've been back stateside. I have a new job - I'll be teaching at a local public high school (English 9 and 10) and the work has already started. Preplanning is this week and then the kids come a week from tomorrow. It will be a lot of hard work, and a big change from teaching at a small school in Africa, but I'm excited about the opportunity. Since the school is in a different town from where my parents live, I've been looking for a place to live in that area, and am in the process of buying a house. It will be a wise investment, and around the same price as renting an apartment, but with the benefit of having my own place (also where I can keep my dog!).

So there have been many changes, and I'm looking forward to the unknown adventures that lie ahead!

I've officially been back in Georgia for 24 hours now. :) I've had a cold glass of milk, slept on a pillow-top mattress, played with my nephew, dried clothes in a dryer, and had a dinner party with friends. I can see already that there are going to be a lot of transition I'll have to do to adjust to life here again, but being with family and friends and feeling like I have a place of connection with them is really going to help. In some ways, I thought that coming back would be so simple, just fitting right back into everyday life here. And in some ways it is simple, but in others, I'm still learning what it means to find my place and peace by relying on the Lord. So I'm thankful for new and continuing lessons.

Sitting in the Zurich airport. Just thought I'd say a little hello thanks to the cheap, amazingly fast wireless internet here. This airport's pretty nice, and i have every intention of getting a mocha and something sweet to eat soon. After all, I am in Switzerland, so I should enjoy the real chocolate. :) Two more flights and then I'll be heading for my comfy bed in my hometown.

See some of you soon!

Thought you might like to see some interesting pictures of the last few days. So enjoy!

On Saturday, I spent nearly 8 hours sitting in a chair undergoing some ritual form of African torture, also known as having your hair tressed. This was the result.






Here are my wonderful roommates, Mandi (pilot) and Janelle (hostel assistant). I will miss them terribly.

On Monday, after my last ever staff meeting at RFIS, my friend Amy and I hopped in a taxi to the bus station. At the bus station, we took a bus for a three-hour ride to Douala, another large city in Cameroon. We met my two roommates and a friend there and spent the next 24 hours shopping, eating, and exploring the city. We stayed at the Baptist mission in the city, and we were almost on the water, as Douala is a port city. We could seem Mt. Cameroon looming in the distance. We ate at places like an outdoor cafe and an ice cream parlor(!). On Tuesday, we were able to focus on the purpose of our trip - shopping at the Artisana market!! We bought tablecloths, batique wall hangings(sp?), carvings, and clothes. We had so much fun talking with the vendors, bartering, and making new friends with the 10 or 12 young men following us around. There were two things that really made me laugh: 1) the young men at one point cornered my roommate Janelle and were trying to sell her a dress that she really did not want - we told them we could get it cheaper in Yaounde, and one guy yelled "Well, just go to Yaounde then!" We replied with "Ok, we will" since we were planning to leave that afternoon anyway. And 2) a nice lady selling us some things told me my French was very good. Ha!! What French? lol.

It was a great experience and a wonderful last look at Cameroon. Things are winding down at the school, just a couple of little things left to do. I've really started packing now and am trying to cram my life for the past year into two suitcases and a backpack. So I'm looking forward and thinking about life on the other side, but trying to take in every little thing here one last time.

It has been a whirlwind of events these past several days. Students are now officially finished with exams, all my reports and grades are turned in to the office, and I'm working on cleaning out my desk and packing my house. It's insane to think I've been a teacher in Africa for a full school year. I can hardly believe it sometimes when I think about all the adventures, lessons, fun times, and struggles I have faced here. I am so thankful for the time and experience here, and the people who have blessed me so much with their friendship as well. God has shown me so much, taught me much, and carried me through this whole year.

It will be hard to say goodbye to all these people here, students, friends, and roommates. But I'm looking forward to the next adventure that God has in store for me, whatever it may be.

I will be leaving on a jet plane on June 15th and then I guess I'll just take life as I find each day.

Thank you again so much for all your prayers and support while I've been here. I know I could not have made it without you!

Just wanted to let you know about Banquet. My 11th graders did an amazing job setting up and making this year's banquet a wonderful experience. The food was good (and there was enough of it for everyone!) and the place was beautiful. All the kids looked so wonderful dressed up in their suits and dresses. I arrived a little early, and there were the a few boys sitting and playing cards at one of the tables. It made me smile. It was great to celebrate the Senior class and to have fun with everyone. I'll post a few picture below.

I'd love to write a ton more, but there is so much going on! This is the last week of classes, and finals are next week. So there are a million things to do, and a steady flow of student memory books end up on my desk everyday with the request that I write something in them. :) It's such a blessing to feel that I've made a difference, even if it's in small ways, by being here this year.

I'm hoping to send out a newsletter or email update soon to my prayer list, but I can tell you here as well. After a lot of prayer and careful consideration, I've decided to return to the States in June and not plan on coming back here to Cameroon to teach in the fall. It was a hard decision to make because of the connection I feel to the students here, but I know that the Lord is leading me and has guided me to make this decision. So I just have to trust that He has something wonderful in store for me Stateside. Thank you to all of you who have shown me so much support in this journey through your prayers, encouragement and financial support. I couldn't have made it through this year without you. The newsletter I hopefully send out soon will explain more about me leaving, so keep your eyes out for it.

One of my students - I lovingly refer to him as my "A-town brotha" as he has lived in Atlanta for a time.


My Korean ESL students and me:

Sorry about the long delay between updates. Like I said in my last post, life is pretty crazy on this side of the world lately. IGCSE exams are in full swing, and the 10th graders are all stressed. Poor guys! AP exams are being conducted as well. The teachers are doing double and triple duty, teaching classes and proctoring exams this week and next. I've proctored an AP and IGCSE exam, and have two more to do next week. There are only 8 teaching days left, then final exam week, then post-planning week...... whew!

This Saturday evening is Senior Banquet (think prom). Kids have been talking all week about dresses, shoes, ties, flowers, etc. It's been fun to help the 11th grade class prepare for banquet. We've been working for over a month on location, decorations, and menu, so I hope tomorrow night goes very well for them. I've been very proud seeing many of them take leadership positions through the process and work hard to make this year's Banquet special. During Banquet, there is food and dancing, but there is also a part of the program reserved for Senior goodbyes. This is a chance for the underclassmen to say farewell to the seniors and for the seniors to say farewell in turn. I'll do my best to take pictures and get some posted this weekend.

Monday and Tuesday there is no school. Tuesday is a national holiday, so we've given the students Monday off as well. So everything will be crazy for the next couple of weeks, as I only have 7 periods left to do an entire "Animal Farm" unit with my English 11 class! Guess I'd better get back to work!

This past Friday night was the RFIS Carnival, hosted by the students. Each class was responsible for setting up different booths (cake walk, relay races, zipline, etc) and running them throughout the night. The report right now is that there were more people than last year, and indeed, it did seem like a popular place to be on Friday night. My 11th graders were in charge of several things like food and a Dance Dance Revolution tournament. But their most famous (and favorite!) booth was the Jail. The rules of the jail were that you could pay to have a friend or family member "arrested" and put in jail for 5 minutes at a time. There were several boys whose job it was to chase people down and cart them off to jail. Some of the men who were being arrested put up quite a fight, and the poor boys were exhausted by the end of the night! Here I present Evidence A:



In an effort to show me just how much I'm loved by my students, they paid to have me incarcerated 6 different times! I was definitely feeling the love! Here I present Evidence B:



All in all, it was a great night and everyone had a wonderful time. Hopefully, the 11th graders made some money to save up for their senior trip next year. But no matter what, it was great to spend more time with my kids.

My to-do list runneth over. Wait... maybe that's not how that saying goes. :) But it's true today anyway. There are only 8 weeks left of school before EXAMS!!! are upon us. Yes, that word must be capitalized, at least according to my students who are currently having increasing amounts of panic attacks as the IGCSEs approach. IGCSEs are exams that would probably be the same type of thing as Iowa Test of Basic Skills. They're essential for getting into universities or secondary schools in Europe and the UK.

My English 11 class has begun their second Shakespeare unit of the year (we're reading "Taming of the Shrew"), and they seem to be loving it. Especially when they get to read it aloud in class and get into the parts. They wander around the halls calling each other by their character names, and the boys compete to see how many insults they can memorize to use on one another later. Now, I'm sure there are English teachers out there who are cringing at that thought, but hey... if I can get a 16 or 17 year old boy to quit trying to sneak his iPod into class and actually enjoy reading Shakespeare, then I say that's a pretty good thing.

Tomorrow is another day, full of possibilities. So I'd better go sleep and brace myself. :)

Hi everyone!

Thought you might like to see my 11th grade English class. This is a photo of us that we took for a Flat Stanley project. We received a Flat Stanley (flat, paper version of a child in the States that is supposed to travel the world) from a girl named Sydney, and we took a picture with her Flat Stanley to send to her. My students had fun with it. So here you can see the crazy, lovable hoodlums that I get to spend time with every school day.



This is the largest class at my school, and apparently the loudest, as I've had several teachers poke their heads in and wonder what the commotion is all about. :) There are at least 5 languages bandied about my classroom, and 4 different nationalities represented. Their parents are linguists, translators, teachers, politicians, farmers, and doctors, among other things. I get to teach them how to write well, how to read and (hopefully!) understand Shakespeare, how to look at a written work and swim through the language, metaphors, and verbosity to discover it's meaning and impact, to be inspired by great writers and orators, and to stretch and challenge their brains to reach for, and achieve, the impossible. Each day is a challenge, a frustration, a blessing, a reward. I am so thankful God has brought me here, and for all your prayers and support that make it possible for me to stay.

Blessings,

Anna

Sorry it's been a while. Being on spring break means no easy internet access for me. But I promised pictures of the kids at the school drama, so here you go.






That's the whole cast and stage crew, with me dragged into the middle. :) They were a great group, and I was so proud of how hard everyone worked. We had a great time together, and the play was a hit! I might even be willing to be stage crew manager/makeup & hair lady again next year. Maybe....

The first portion of my Spring break has gone well so far. I've been spending time with one particular family lately, and the parents went out of town on Monday to visit friends up north, so I got to hang out with their 14 year old daughter, Molly, until they got back on Wednesday. Molly is so much fun to hang out with, and she's taught me how to play Dance Dance Revolution! Her mom, Lisa, is really great to talk with. On Thursday, we went to the French club together. The French Club is like a country club with tennis courts and pool, but definitely Cameroon style. :) But we had a great time playing tennis and lounging around the pool for hours. And yes, Mama, I am sunburned... it's hard to avoid sunburn when you live on the Equator, no matter how much sunscreen you slather on. But we had a great time anyway.



Next week is our mission branch's spiritual retreat. There will be worship times, a speaker, and potlucks and such. It will be interesting to meet new people and hear the speaker. But I'm hoping to work another trip to the French club into my schedule. :)




<---- Molly and me after the play. She was part of my stage crew, and was a huge help!

Well, I guess I'd better get offline and do something productive. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

My Spring newsletter is finished! If you'd like to receive it, or you know of someone who would, just leave me a comment with your email and I'd be happy to email it to you! (comments will be screened to keep email addresses private)

This week, the drama production is in full swing at school. Our first show is Thursday night, and things could not be more insane. As stage manager/set crew director, and hair/makeup lady, I'm running around in forty different directions at once. We have to get the set done today, but the only time we can finish painting is while the actors are on stage doing a rehearsal. Not ideal, but we work with what we have.

Spring break begins a week from Friday, and I don't know who's more excited - me or the kids. :) My mission branch will be having conferences that I'll need to attend for several days during break, but then I fully intend to find something relaxing to do. I'll keep you posted on what I come up with.

So if you think of me, send up a quick prayer that everything goes smoothly with drama and set crew, that I'll be able to manage my classes and time well in the next week and a half, and that I can get progress reports written by Friday!!

I'd love to hear from you. Shoot me an email or comment here and let me know what's going on in your life.

This semester, I started teaching an elective history class, Mythology. It's kind of a comparitive religions/history class in which the students are studying different cultures and their myths and beliefs. We've already studied Greek and Roman mythology, and we've just finished our Norse unit. This week we're starting on Asian myth (Babylonian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai). I'm making them actually read the Enuma Elish. Aren't I nice?

Anyways, for each unit of study, they have to complete a project of their choice from a list of options I've given them. They did such a great job on the Norse unit projects that I wanted to share pictures with you.

The first is a Viking burial ship model, complete with "dead body" in the tent, extra clothing, food, and weapons.




Next is a 3D poster of the world according to the Norse.





There are currently only 2 students in the class, but there's already a list of kids who want to take it next semester. We always compare what we're learning to Christianity. I'm really enjoying this because it's helping the kids look outside of what they've always believed and understand just how much what you believe shapes the way you live.

Hope you enjoyed a little insight into my teaching life. Today I'm starting the Canterbury Tales with my 11th grade English class. I plan to fully confirm my students' opinion that I am a total nerd by reciting the General Prologue in Middle English. :)

Fellow teacher, Amy, and I "borrowed" a student's camera, and this was the result -->




Later, that student decided he needed a picture with me too! I'm so popular! (and I'm not mad... we're supposed to be looking "cool") --->




Some of my boys being boys-->



and a totally non-retreat photo, but a cute one nonetheless- me and my nephew at the airport before I headed back here in January --->




(ps- Mother, did you notice that almost all of those have ME in them???) :)

On Friday, I returned with the high school students from a week of retreat at a place called Rock Farm in Cameroon. It was so much fun spending time with students, building relationships, being crazy, and just exploring more of Cameroon. It was a jam-packed few days, with nearly every moment full of activity (including the night, when I had guard duty!). But overall, it was a really encouraging time of helping the students to build each other up and meet God in a new way.








The last night we were there, myself and four other teachers put on a "Whose Line is it Anyway?" game show. I was the hostess, and they were the four actors. I have never seen my students all laughing that hard! It was great! The teachers were hilarious, the games were perfect, and so many kids came up to us afterward and told us how fun it was. At the end of the "show" the "winner" had to do the 90 second alphabet game with me, which was between me and my friend Amy. I think we surprised some of the kids, who didn't believe we had such great senses of humor!

So I'm thankful for times like that to enjoy, that kind of break up the monotony that school can become. Now it's another 5 weeks until spring break, but I think everyone's ready to hit the books again.

This week, I'm hostel-sitting at one of the student hostels while the hostel parents are away for a conference or something. There are 12 students, grades 8-12, in the house, and they are all so unique and fun, and full of mischief! I think we'll have a good week. But I'm sure it will be a challenge tomorrow when we all go back to school, and there's the matter of making sure that 12 people have lunches, homework, books, and sports stuff all ready to go by 7 a.m.! So if you think about it, say a quick prayer for me and Janelle this week. Oh, and don't worry - the puppy is staying here with us. She's getting to spend time with her mom and dad!

Well, it's about dinner time, and soon about 5 sweaty soccer players will return home looking for something to eat! Better get to work!

Tomorrow morning, I leave with the high school students and staff to go on our High School Retreat for the week. We'll be staying at a "retreat center", which I've been told is nice, and the room I'm sharing with another teacher supposedly has air conditioning. At least, it does when the power works, which I've been told to not count on the power all too much. The schedule of events include a speaker for several sessions, small group times, pool time, games, and some fun evening talent shows and "rock star" nights. So I think it will be a lot of fun! I'm really looking forward to the chance to hang out with the kids more outside of school, and to just relax. It will pretty much be like being a counselor at summer camp, so yay! How fun is that? :)

This past weekend was full of time with friends and students. I spent all of Friday evening at one of the student hostels, eating pizza and watching movies with the kids. On Saturday, I had fun cheering on the boys' soccer team in their final match, and having my house invaded by some of those smelly, dusty boys that evening (they proceeded to eat ALL of my homemade granola, and polish off one of the 2 pound bags of peanut M&Ms, in addition to all of Janelle's peanut butter crackers!). It's really been great getting to know some of my students outside of the school campus. They're all a bunch of fun, interesting, and great kids who are teaching me more about life in their own way. So I guess retreat will be even more of a learning experience for me, continuing this process of forming relationships with my students and fellow staff.

If you think about it, pray for us this week as we travel, have speaker sessions, small groups and games. I'll take pictures and be sure to have lots to upload and talk about when we get back.

Dry season has hit with a vengeance. My skin, hair, and eyes are consistently dry, no matter how much lotion, etc. I try to slather them with. The panes of glass on my windows are covered with a film or reddish-brown dust, and every bit of water in my puppy's bowl evaporates within an hour. In the mornings, what appears to be morning fog is actually dust in the air.

Another aspect of this dryness is the temperatures. In the morning, I am literally shivering and so thankful for a warm shower. Today, in fact, I've had goosebumps for about an hour and am trying to think of ways to warm up. Sure, the temperature is in the 70's, but hey... that's cold, people! During the afternoons, it gets downright diabolically toasty in the sun, though. So I've just got to hold out for a few more hours and I'll warm up.

I've been asked to run the stage crew for the school's upcoming drama. It's a challenge, since I've never run a stage crew, or created a set for a play before, but the kids are good, and they're having a good time getting everything ready. I'll try to post pictures as we go, but we begin painting the floor today. Hopefully in the next week or so, we can begin painting our scene on the flats. Getting paint and supplies is proving to be interesting around here, but hey.. it's just another growing experience. :)

Even with all the dryness and challenges of this season in Cameroon, God has been blessing me with refreshing times. Yesterday, I rode to church with a friend downtown, and it was a nice change of pace. I spent several hours chatting with another friend on Saturday, learning about each other and sharing what's on our hearts. I'm looking forward to starting a new small group Bible study in my home in the upcoming week.

So maybe I need some lotion, and my hair is sticking off my head in 50 different directions, but otherwise... my cup is overflowing.

ps - here is a picture of my crazy puppy, Kimia (which is a Lingala word for "peace", named by some of my students). She has decided that our shoe shelf is her favorite nap location. We'll see how long that lasts.