Ten Years Later and it Still Hits Hard...

I walked into the school on just another Tuesday that morning. A few of my friends and I had missed a Spanish quiz and had gone to Senor Hoof's room to make it up. We started 15 min before 8 and I was almost finished when Senor Hoof ran into the room and told us to go ahead and turn the quiz in, we would be able to finish it later. He went straight to the television and turned it on.

I really wasn't sure what I was looking at when the screen faded into a crisp picture of the NY skyline. Then one by one, my classmates and I noticed the smoke billowing from one of the World Trade Center towers. We were dumb struck almost. As more students filed in for class to begin, the news anchors were just as dumb founded as we were, trying to make since of the picture we were seeing. Then we saw a dark figure, that looked like a large plane, fly in the shot from the right of the screen and a huge explosion rocked the second WTC tower. There was screaming, shouting and chaos going on all around me and I was frozen in all my emotions. Fear, anger, and grief were running though my veins. about ten minutes later the word terrorism was being mentioned, and we couldn't believe it. My classmates and I had been alive for the Pan Am flight 103 bombing in 1988, WTC bombing of 1993, and the OKC Bombing 1995, but this was the first time we were really old enough to understand what was going on. None of us said a word after the initial shock of seeing the plane hit, we just watched.

After about 20 minutes, Senor Hoof said we needed to get to work. He told us that probably nothing else would happen. About 15 min before the class was scheduled to end, the principal walked in and handed a memo to Senor Hoof. As he read it silently to himself, you could see the disbelief in his face. Then he started to read:

"Students and Teachers, as you have probably heard by now, the United States has suffered a great tragedy this Tuesday morning. Three planes have hit the WTC towers 1 and 2 and the Pentagon. Just moments ago, both towers fell. There is no telling the loss of life that has occurred this morning. As much as this news will affect all of you in different ways, there is no cause for alarm here. We will keep you updated on events throughout the day. May God Bless America"

I was crying before he finished reading the letter. I thought there would be more attacks that day. We didn't know what to think. The rest of the day was eerie. The hallways were silent all day. We tried to hurry from class to class, so that we could still watch the news as it was unfolding. President Bush spoke from Barksdale that afternoon (which is less that an hour away). On the band field shortly after his speech, we could have sworn those fighter jets scrambling in the sky were leading Air Force One to its undisclosed location. I went to Softball practice that evening still in a daze. September 11, 2001 will be a day I will never forget.

Ten years later, and I can still see those images. I can still see the football player that sat in front of me trying to hide his tears as they replayed the second plane hit. Ten years ago the United States was united under a banner of hope and sorrow for those lost in this horrendous tragedy that happened on our watch. So many times, I wonder where that America went. Have we forgotten the unity that occurred, or have we, like those after the 1993 bombing, just gotten so far removed from the tragedy that we no longer sense the urgency that is still prevalent today?

As I remember my experiences, the emotions still hit hard. The fear, the anger and the sorrow are all still so raw for me. The tears running down my face right now (that make it rather difficult to pen my last few words) show those emotions rather well.

Have the last ten year changed you life? Because they sure did change mine!

Week One Down...

So my very first week as an official teacher has come and gone, and it has been a rather interesting one to say the least.

After the first day fireworks that I experienced, the rest of the week almost went off without a hitch. I have a great group of students. There is only one class right now that is trying as hard as they can to test the waters. It's like no matter what I do, they are not going to do what I ask of them. I don't want to react...I want to be proactive with this group, but that is becoming rather difficult.

Friday night we had a welcome back to school dance. I went to help out and had a good time. Let me just say that i went "Low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low" and then it was hard to get back up. Some of my students were excited to see me there. And the entire night went without a hitch and every student was picked up on time.

Hoping that this week is just as great as my last one!!!

A Very Peculiar First Day

Too say that this day went off without a hitch would almost be a lie.

Today was my first official day as an 8th grade math teacher at TMS. I was a little nervous about actually having my own classroom, but I was also excited and ready. My classes are amazing. I can't wait to see how we are all going to mesh this year. There are very strong personalities, and very humbles personalities. After having each student fill out a 'Get to Know You' questionnaire, I realized that I have some very unique individuals in my classes.

Like I said, my classes were amazing and I had an awesome first day of school, at least is was until I went to leave.

At 4:30 I headed to my car, but my things in the back seat and got in the drivers seat. I put my key in the ignition and it went "ch ch ch ch ch ch ch" but didn't start. So I turned the key again "ch ch ch ch ch' was the sound I heard, yet again it wouldn't start. SO I got out of the sauna and called my grandfather. He asked me what it was doing and I said "ch ch ch ch ch ch" but it wont start. Some how our communication was misinterpreted because he thought automatically that the battery was out. However, that was not the case.

He stood there and looked under the hood for awhile (really just looked, we had no clue what to do). He asked me how much gas I had. I knew that I had over a quarter of a tank, but he went and got gas anyway to put in the tank. That wasn't the problem either.

So we went home. He kept saying over and over again, "Some how fuel isn't getting to your engine" So he called a tow truck. After relaying the make and model of my car on the phone, to guy says "I know exactly what's wrong, meet me at your car in 5 minutes"

Drum Roll........................................

It was my anti theft system. It turned itself on which disables the fuel injector. No fuel, no start. 10 minutes later he had the car running. Any my grandfather and I were perplexed.

What a way to end a great day!

A Whirlwind of Information

On July 19, 2011 I was offered a wonderful opportunity. I was given a position to teach 8th grade mat at Texas Middle School.

Since that day I have been on information overload. Workshops for math, instructional services, Aware, TEAMS/Gradebook, Instructional Technology, IEP's and ARDS, Orientation, Benefits, and many more. Not to mention those workshops that all the teachers go to during our campus instructional planning the next week.

Any down time I have between all those workshops is spent getting my classroom together. Bulletin boards, student desks, teacher desks, rules, procedures, making sure each student will be able to see the board...it is so overwhelming.

I made a comment to my grandmother yesterday that I never want to be a first year teacher in another district for the rest of my life...there is just too much to learn. Hopefully all those notes and handouts will be repeatedly reread and looked over (because I won't remember everything).

I have a great team and a great mentor teacher.

Bring on those kids!!!!!

Back to the Heart of Worship

I read somewhere that if you hear a song 20 times, you stop thinking about the words. The book went on to say that this is affecting our worship to God. I would have to agree. I go to church and the music starts. Usually I don't even have to look at the screens, the words are already coming out. The melodies and harmonies are finding their way through my vocal chords. Then my mind starts to wander "What am I going to do after church today? What will the students be like tomorrow? Man I hope I get that job. Etc." Is that what my worship looks like to God. Can you even consider that worship? Even though I am singing the song, the words are not coming from my heart.

Yesterday I decided to do something about it. I grabbed a notebook and wrote the very words that you have read so far. I decided that I really needed to think about the way I worship. I have started writing down the words that I sing all the time and then figuring out if I really want to pledge that to the Lord of all.

I want to get back to the heart of worship. I don't want to go through the motions anymore. I want to worship in Spirit and in Truth.

A Night Of Greenbeans

Kids' Camp ended a little over a week ago. Usually this is the last time that I get to see all my friends from the Northwest. I say goodbye to all the kids, the counselors, the staff, and usually there are hopes for seeing each other again in a year when we all converge on the Latvian Camp we call home for a week.

Luckily for me, the 'year' came rather quickly. As I was starting on my journey home on July 4 through the air, another journey had already begun by land. Pastor Jamie, Kim, Chelsea, and Phoebe were on vacation. The Greenings were headed to my neck of the woods.

We ate dinner at Two Senoritas in Mt. Pleasant. It was here that I heard first hand of the upcoming Light Bulb Apocalypse. We had a great visit, a lot of laughs. Somehow we decided that we were going to go to a movie. This was great for me, I have a rule that I have to spent more time in a place then the time it takes to drive there and back. On the way to the movie, we had to stop and get coffee for Jamie's mom's house. We stopped at Super 1 (apparently our first mistake) where they didn't have the 'classic roast' so we got Colombian, but we did grab a package of light bulbs (which made our mistake not seem as bad). On the way to the Movie Theater I learned a new meaning for 'Cheese'. Then we watched Car's 2 (which I loved again).

So now it's another year before I get to hang out with the Greenings again. But until then, last night will have to hold me over until then.

Some Pool Side Faith

Once again I have been granted the privilege of serving as the lifeguard at Kids’ Camp. Being able to work with the kids, building on relationships and starting new ones has been a blessing that will last a life time. I enjoy every minute that I spent at Camp Kursa each year and each year, I get more out of that time.

This week, our theme was “Driven by Faith in Jesus”. Each chapel time we delved into who God is and what is means to really be driven by our faith in him. It just so happened that my personal study each morning was learning about the Holy Spirit and how to trust in Him. That being said, Faith has been on my mind a lot this week.

Tuesday afternoon during pool time, I really started watching the kids. When I announced it was time for swim time to start, some just ran and jumped in. I call these kids Plungers. They didn’t know if the water was cold or warm, they just knew that I said go and they wanted to be in the water, so they jumped. Then there were the Toe Touchers. When I said it was time to get in, they ran to the stairs and put their feet in. Then after a while they might get wet to their waists. Then their choice must be mad “Do I keep going, do I go back, or do I just stay here where I am comfortable?”

As I was watching this, I couldn’t help but think how much this resembles Christians and their response to the Spirit. The Plungers are those who hear the Spirit say go and then run and jump. They know that once they get there it may be hard, but they also know that the Spirit is going with them and they are willing to follow (no matter what), their faith is strong. The Toe Touchers are those who hear the Spirit say go and then respond by only going a little ways to try it out, then they may go deeper. But all too often Toe Touchers stay where they are comfortable or they even give up all together. I want to have the faith of a Plunger, but I tend to find myself acting like a Toe Toucher. However there is hope for us Toe Touchers.

Going back to the pool, after awhile, I saw pastor Jim go over to those at the stairs. He would ask them if they wanted to go for a swim, and they trusted him. The kids, one by one, would jump on his back and he would swim them around the pool. The smiles on their faces told it all, they were experiencing the land of the Plungers and loving every minute of it. To Toe Touchers, those Plungers who are willing to come aside with reassurance and encouragement are priceless.

I know a lot of plungers (a few right here serving at Camp). I also know a few Toe Touchers. My prayer for the Toe Touchers is that God will continue to show you more of his Spirit and that your faith will continue to grow until you are ready to jump in (head or feet first). For the Plungers, I pray that your faith remains strong. I pray that every once and awhile you’ll turn back to a Toe Toucher and say, “Come on in and swim with me, the waters fine.”