My mansion

I love to do projects around my home. We purchased this home, in part, because it didn't need much work, but before we even moved in I had plans to add an additional bedroom in the basement. Add to that list, plans to do a laundry room remodel / bathroom addition in the basement, master bathroom remodel, kitchen back splash tile and under cabinet lights, overhead lights in 3 rooms that don't currently have them, replacement of 80s-style bathroom lights, removal and replacement of popcorn ceiling texture on entire main floor, and I'm sure there is more I'm forgetting. That's in addition to what we've already done: replaced 2 gates and the entire front of the fence, painted multiple rooms, added framing and a door to the master bedroom (yes, it never had one), built a raised garden bed, and probably a few other things I'm forgetting.

I'm not discontent with my home. I like my home a lot, but I love to look at the design and function of something and see how I could make it better. I set a budget and a goal, watch for sales (we tiled the floor of a bathroom in our old house for under $40 using 18" tiles found at more than 80% off), and refuse to hire anyone to do the work for me (that would take away all my fun).

Scott teases me that when I get to heaven, I'll know which mansion is mine. It will be the run down one in need of repairs and ripe for all the projects I've been eager to do. People will probably glance down the golden streets, spot my mansion, and wonder what bad things I did on earth to deserve such a place. I, however, will be in heaven...well, yeah!

I've been thinking of this in context of going to Africa. I've wondered if I shouldn't be on a construction team instead of a teaching team. But there isn't a construction team going this year (they built the school last year), and I do love teaching too. Who knows, maybe I'll find a few opportunities to do some projects too while I'm there. And, if something happens and I don't come home from Africa (don't get me wrong, I fully intend to return, but I'm not in control of my fate), you'll know where to find me when you get to Heaven. Just look for the fixer-upper mansion.

 

Tiling the kitchen back splash in our old house.

Africa

I’m about to embark on a great adventure! I have drafted a detailed letter which I'll soon send out to some friends & family; I wanted to include a portion of that letter here since I've had many people asking for more details about my upcoming trip.

I will travel to Africa with a large group. The group is made up of smaller teams that will work in different areas during the day, and come together at night at a retreat center. Some of the teams are: clean water, health, sports, pastoral, and teaching. I am part of the two person teaching team.

The school where we’ll spend our days is about an hour away from the retreat center. We'll help teachers develop lesson plans, train on classroom management and setup, show them how to use stories and other methods to reinforce lessons instead of just using repetitive drills (currently their main teaching method). We will take some materials there and help them create some materials, but our main focus will be to leave the teachers with skills they can pass on to other teachers, thus helping them to be self-sufficient instead of needing to rely on outside help. While I will help with all of the above, I will also spend a lot of time subbing in the classrooms while the other team member works one-on-one with the teachers. They teach in British English, but there will still be a language barrier due to unfamiliar words and accents. Students at the school are preschool - 5th grade.

At the end of our time at the school, we will enjoy a 2 day safari before leaving Africa. One exciting aspect of the trip is that I’ll also be traveling with my dad who is on the team that will work with area pastors. On our way home, he and I will split off from the group and spent two days in England – one with a friend, and one in London.

Finally and most importantly, I ask and thank you for your prayers - for me while I go out of my comfort zone, my family who will be without me for that time, and those I will encounter while I am gone.

The Allure of Teaching

Before I had my own kids, I had classrooms full of kids.  I loved the looks on their faces when something really clicked.  I loved to explore the world with them and often got as excited as they did.  Never will I forget the day we were studying weather and had just talked about hail when a rare hail storm hit the Chicago area.  We ran out into the yard and gathered up platefuls of hail.  The kids looked at me as if I had magically caused the sky to open.  They couldn't stop talking about the circles on the hail stones, and how they were formed by tumbling over and over in the clouds before falling to the earth.  That group of energetic 5-year-olds has now graduated from high school.  Maybe one or two are pursuing a career in meteorology.  Another child that stands out in my mind is a 5-year-old color whiz.  Of course by the time kids are 5, they have usually mastered their colors, and so I always had a unit on secondary colors.  You know, blue + yellow = green, etc.  While the other kids were overlapping color paddles to see the results, this little boy wanted to know what would happen if we mixed a "new" (secondary) color with an "old" (primary) color.  I casually mentioned that you would get a tertiary color, like red + green = brown.  He spent the rest of the year at the easel mixing various colors and reporting his results.  By the end of the year, 11 other 5 year olds knew the word tertiary.  That child has most likely been driving for more than a year now; he is probably also quite an artist or graphic designer.  The excitement of reading a book or singing a song or dancing or digging in the dirt with a completely engaged group of children is without compare.

 photo courtesy jiji

This is part of the reason I chose to say yes to this opportunity to go work at a school in Africa. I have no idea what to expect. I haven't been in the formal role of "teacher" in many years. I'm feeling inadequate. Will I remember all those tricks I used to have up my sleeve? In addition to spending time in the classroom, I will help to train teachers. That makes me feel really inadequate! However, I feel certain that I'm being called to go on this trip. I have some fears and reservations. I'm starting to get very sad about leaving my family for 18 days. However, I hope to come home more excited to spend time with my own kids; more eager to teach them, and read to them, and dance with them. While it will be hard to be gone for so long, I hope a greater appreciation for my own kids is just one of the many lessons I'll discover while I'm gone.