Levity in the Classroom... Remembering I'm a Teacher

However much I love teaching, I have a decent capacity to forget that I'm a teacher when away from work. Lately I've remembered a bit because I've helped set the budget for the learning center and consulted about ordering supplies. Those aren't my favorite aspects of teaching, so maybe it's a rude awakening.

However, I know why I'm excited to go back to teaching in Musoma! It's the kids. Lovely for many reasons, one of my favorite parts about teaching is the free entertainment they supply. I have a little book that I started at my first job, when I taught first grade in the States. Inside are some of my favorite things that kids have said to me over the years. Here are some samples of the past, as I look forward to the future:

• I shared that my car door hit me that morning. C said he knew why. He leaned in and whispered ominously, "It might be a Transformer, but I think it's a... Decepticon!"

• Z ran up to me breathless during recess. "Ms Deal, can you hold my sticker? I need to chase the boys." Another day she panted, "Ms Deal, I need some water so I can chase boys. I caught three. Four more to go." She also told me that her mother would prefer it if I called her JuJubee.

• An older student, K, coming out of one of my riveting modern world history classes: "Let's play revolution! Who wants to be the government?"

• L showed me the warts on his finger, explaining, "I have bumps on my finger, so I use them as a remote control. Beep, beep, beep [demonstration]." What he is controlling with those bumps, we may never know...

Resting... Also in Progress

 Here's another piece in progress! This one's been a long time in the making, because it has to do with what God's been teaching me during the last year...

The scene is inspired by a glorious hike in Bird Creek Meadows on Mt Adams, WA, many years ago. That day He gifted me with a nap on moss along the path, the beauty of mountain streams and flowers, and the fun of not knowing exactly where or how far I was going.

This year He's spoken to me about the removal of all shame, about the beauty He gives in its place, about His enduring love and presence with me, about acceptance, about rest, about trusting Him with my path. He's spoken in many ways, through friends, through His Word, through situations, through nature, through art, through His Spirit in me.

The ground in the painting is textured by verses from the books of Isaiah, Psalms, Jeremiah, Hebrews, etc... I'm resting in the beautiful garments with which He's covered me. Of course, you can't quite see that yet... because it's in progress! And so are the things He's teaching me.

Art in Progress

One of my favorite activities of late, maybe right after swinging in the hammock, is working on art. I have about 4 projects going. Some are in the planning mode. I'm testing out techniques on others. Paint is layering up on some. It's really fun.

This one is a memory. The green and yellow will be the background. I made it in an art workshop, where the teacher is sharing organic ways, like pouring paint:), to build up beautiful backgrounds.

It's a memory of my last birthday, when my roommate and I rowed out into the middle of Lake Victoria. You can see us in the pencil drawing, which I'll transfer to the background when it's ready. She's floating and I'm exploding out of the water. Kites (kind of like hawks) fly overhead.

Joyful memory. Joyful process.