Easter Week

The week leading up to Easter is called Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Colombia. All schools have off and many people have off work as well. Many families travel/vacation or at least spend lots of time together at home.

Olga and I took a trip to the "Paisa" region of Colombia over Semana Santa, visiting the cities of Manizales and Medellin as well as surrounding towns and attractions.

Here is a video summary of our trip, followed by some highlights! Enjoy!

Trip Tidbits & Highlights:

• We spent a total of 55 hours on transportation: buses, taxis, cars, a van, a chivita, the metro, and cable cars! (Some of it was added time do to roads being closed because of flooding and mud slides.) It was worth it though, Colombia has "beautiful landscapes" (just ask cousin Jorge, our English-practicing Medellin tour guide)!
• We spent zero money on accommodations and little money on food, thanks to the hospitality of Olga's extended family in Colombia. This helped to keep our trip expenses very minimal. And, of course, staying with them made our trip very full of authentic Colombian cultural experiences and Colombian food (lots of arepas for breakfast and meat and rice for lunch)!
• In Manizales, we saw street crossing signs for cows, possums, AND armadillos!
• During a very interesting tour of a coffee factory, we were gifted a souvenir poncho, part of the traditional Colombian Paisa dress. I love free stuff and I love random souvenirs...so, this made my day! :)
• There was lots of rain the week before our trip as well as the week of our trip. This forced a lot of plans to change with our trip, but nevertheless we still got to do and see everything we wanted to, and more importantly we were kept safe--God is so good!
• Olga's family, as is much of Colombia, is Catholic. There is a big divide here between Catholicism and Christianity. On this trip, Olga was able to share her beliefs with her family as well as to explain some of the differences she has seen between the two churches. Some were more receptive to hearing this than others, but all were curious about why she is back in Colombia and what kind of church she goes to. We also had the experience of praying the rosary with some of her family members, an interesting experience.
• The mix of Olga and my languages and culture seems to interest and attract people to us. When it's just the two of us out and about somewhere, it's interesting how people seem so interested in talking with us and hearing our story and sharing with us. It has given us the chance to share with people, get to know them, and even build relationships, whether they were the people sitting behind us on the bus or the people selling us something at their store/restaurant. This trip had a few of these unique opportunities.
• For the first time in my life, I experienced the feeling as if I was going to faint. Thankfully, though, after a little time, I was back to normal. On this trip I learned that high altitude does affect me! Oh, and now I also know that I can get car sick! The Nevado del Ruiz trip was rough in these ways, but still a very beautiful and worth-while trip! We got to observe a very rare ecosystem there and see snow for the first time in over a year!
• The only sad note about the trip is that our bus trip home took 5 more hours than initially expected, which got us home in the afternoon instead of early morning and did not allow us to attend the Easter Sunday church service. But, we did get to see many interesting Easter traditions throughout the week.

Blessings,

Sophie

My Diamonds

Ok, so really ALL of my students are "diamonds," but here are the April birthdays (diamond is their birthstone)!

Happy Birthday, Celina!

This is Celina's first year at ECA. She is an only child, but she has pets which she loves: bunnies, birds, and she is getting a new puppy. She also has a love of stuffed toys (animals, vegetables, puffles, movie characters--you name it)! Her parents are from Holland and Suriname. Celina came from Kindergarten right to our second grade class! Her hard work and positive spirit have allowed her to grow in leaps and bounds this year. Celina makes me, and her classmates, laugh daily through silly faces, funny stories, and crazy dance moves....just look at that face! Celina is also very inquisitive and honest. My prayer for her is that she will use the humor, energy, and creativity that God has given her for things that honor and glorify Him!

Happy Birthday, Josue!

Josue is an only child, but I know he keeps his parents plenty busy and entertained! He has the biggest amount of energy I have ever seen in such a small little body. He is another of our class entertainers. He is very gifted at speaking in different voices and with different accents (I will never forget when he said, "Hi, my name is Sophie Thiesen" with his best Spaniard lisp)! He is a classic example of 'happy-go-lucky' and he helps keeps things light and interesting in our classroom. He is also a friend to all and is greatly loved by all his classmates. I especially love his daily greetings and hugs, every morning and afternoon. Josue loves playing and watching soccer and he likes to inform me how his favorite teams/players are doing. Also, a random fact, his favorite foods are fish and soup, and he doesn't like cake (He didn't even eat any of his own Birthday cake)! My prayer for Josue is that his joy will always come from the Lord!

Happy Birthday, Cynthia!

Cynthia has an older sister in forth grade at ECA. Her father is American and her mother is Colombian. Her father used to be a Bible teacher at ECA and he now works with a church in Bogotá. Her family plans to move to the states at the end of this school year and Cynthia will be greatly missed by her classmates! Cynthia is very creative and enjoys using the computer, watching TV, reading Dr. Seuss books, eating pizza, playing tag, and visiting Tennessee! She is appreciated by her classmates because she is kind, loving, and a good friend. Cynthia works really hard in school and always keeps a positive attitude! I love her sweet smile and warm hugs. My prayer for Cynthia is that she will have a good transition to life in the U.S. and will continue to be an example to both the Christians and non-Christians that she encounters through her life, words, and actions.

Choose

I first heard this song in a teacher worship time about three weeks ago. The lyrics really caught my attention, because I realized the realities of my life in the words. My downfalls come when I choose to be consumed by all the the world offers, rather than being completely in love with God, loving what He loves and running from the things He doesn't love. These words have become my prayer. May you also find encouragement in the power of these lyrics!

CHOOSE
(Christy Nockels)

Let me be in love with what You love

Let me be most satisfied in You
Forsaking what this world has offered me
I choose to be in love with You
I will choose to be in love with You

Let me know the peace that's mine in You
Let me know the joy my heart can sing
For I have nothing Lord apart from You
I choose to call on Christ in me
I will choose to call on Christ in me

For in the fullness of who You are
I can rest in this place
And giving over this, my journey Lord
I see nothing but Your face

Let me know that You have loved me first
Let me know the weight of my response
For You have long pursued my wandering heart
I choose to glory in Your cross
I will choose to glory in Your cross

And I bow down...
Humbly, I bow down...
Humbly, I bow down...
I bow down...

I bow down, I bow down
my beloved- here I am
I bow down, I bow down to You...

Listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFg_EG4p8Q0

MARCH MANIA

March should have felt so long…31 days, full month of school without a break…but it came and went SO speedy fast (as I’m sure April and May will do as well)! Anyway, it’s been a while since I’ve done a real blog entry about everything that’s going on with me, so relax, grab a snack, get comfortable…it’s gonna be a long one! OR, just read it in chunks--afterall, I so thoughtfully divided it into sections with headings.
J

My dear sister-in-law Lori sent me off to Colombia with a card to open each month. They have served multiple purposes: wall décor, encouragement, and a calendar. When I look at my wall I am in disbelief that there are only two left to open (and that 9 have already been opened)!

SCHOOL STUFF

Lately I have especially enjoyed my school’s Friday morning professional development meetings. At a meeting at the beginning of the month, we started talking about the book “Shepherding a Child’s Heart,” which talks about not only looking at the child’s behavior, but more importantly uncovering the attitudes of his/her heart. This book is on my summer reading list. Other interesting meetings have included topics that some teachers brought back from a recent ACSI Conference (Association of Christian Schools International) in Ecuador. Last week we talked about Whole Brain Teaching, which requires total verbal and physical response from the whole class. It is very interesting and quit involved, but I’ve enjoyed incorporating a few of the ideas into my classroom.

A first for the school, and for me, was holding a virtual day of school at the beginning of March. The idea for this is to be able to have school online in the case that we sometime couldn’t meet at school due to bad weather or something. This was the trial. While it took careful planning and set-up in advance on my part, when the actual day came, I was free to do as I pleased. I enjoyed that day off by spending it hiking in a cloud forest just outside of Bogota with some other teachers.

My class recently enjoyed connecting with a second grade class in Texas through Skype and pen pal letters. A friend of someone on staff at ECA came to Colombia for a visit, which is how this all came about. The class in Texas even sent us some books in English which were greatly enjoyed by my students! It was a special treat because we don’t get too many new books for the classroom since they have to be brought in from the states. We then had the chance to bless them by sending some things from Colombia back with their teacher.

We said good-bye to one of our students, Sung-Eun at the end of March. Her family is going back to Korea for some training with their mission before heading on the other countries in South and Central America. Her father is a Korean Pastor. The move came about rather suddenly, so it is an adjustment for our class, and of course for her. I was happy to receive an e-mail from her just this afternoon, the first I’ve heard from her since she left, saying she is doing well but missing ECA!

April Fool’s day is not really celebrated here in Colombia, but that didn’t stop me! I wanted to try and fool my class. I decided it would be fun to inconvenience them by turning all their desks around so the opening would face away from them. Of course, I needed something to tell them for a reason as to why their desks were this way. So, when I found some plastic spiders in my science closet, I decided to tell them there was a spider infestation in our classroom. I then covered every open shelf with a bed sheet and turned every box/bin upside down. I made them leave all backpacks and lunchboxes in the hallway and we even took the trashcan outside (to avoid attracting more spiders). Before the students entered the room on April 1 I had the school’s director of operations come and inform the students of the spider problem in our classroom. We start Friday mornings off with SSR (silent reading) and since this morning all the books were covered up, I just put one bin of books out for the students to choose from—all books about spiders and insects! I told them they better take the time to read up on the little critters that taking over our classroom, to learn what they do and do not like. The students took it all very seriously, keeping quiet as to not scare the spiders. The boys, however, took the opportunity to make their own April Fool’s jokes to the girls by saying, “There comes a spider. April Fools!” which the girls of course did not find to be funny. In fact, I had a few girls who I think even under their drama, were genuinely terrified. So, I knew I couldn’t let this go on the whole day. When the students left for break I hide a few of the plastic spiders in some desks and some fake Halloween spider webby stuff in a few other desks. When they came back from break they needed to get a pencil for their spelling test. This was the way I was going to break the news of the April Fools joke to them. Even after finding the plastic spiders, it took a while to sink in, and for them to understand that it really was all made up and that there were no real spiders (and really, in Bogota, you rarely see spiders, ants, or insects inside). No one really found it to be funny either. But after a little while, they loosened up and started trying to fool me. Funny what they came up with. The classics, of course: your shoelace is untied, and what’s that over there, and look what’s on your shirt. They also thought it was funny to say, “Can I go to the nurse? April Fools!” Anyway, after having the weekend to process it, most of them wrote in their journals on Monday morning that they thought my prank on April Fool’s day was fun and some of them went home on Friday and played April Fools jokes on their families.

- April 1, 2011 -

In Science we are studying “changes over time,” which basically means dinosaurs. It has been an interesting topic to teach (mostly because I personally never liked learning about dinosaurs and as a kid struggled with knowing what to believe about them) Surprisingly, though, I am having a lot of fun with it. I am also focusing on discernment with this unit, teaching the students the importance of thinking about what they read and matching it with what the Bible tells us, to know if it is true or not, especially with looking at questions like: When did the dinosaurs live? When did they die? How did they die?

Anyway, fourth quarter is already here, and if fact progress reports go out this week! I know it’ll all fly from here, because next week we have Semana Santa (“holy week”=spring break) and then we return to some field trips and special end-of-the-year activities. I can already feel the craziness of the end of the year…look out!

BIRTHDAYS, BIRTHDAYS, BIRTHDAYS

March was a big birthday month…four students in second grade and three of my teacher friends. I even went to two out-of-school birthday parties for students. One was a simple, small house party with family and another was the whole second grade class at an ice skating rink! Both were tons of fun and an opportunity to spend time with students and their families outside of school.

I also had my own birthday at the beginning of the month! I kicked off my birthday weekend with a Whoopie Pie marathon! My mom used to always make them for my birthday to take to school, and I decided this year I wanted to try and make them to share with my students, co-workers, and friends in Colombia! So that Friday night I whipped up the batter, with Olga’s help, and we took it to our neighborhood bakery to bake them. Our oven is broken and the bakery let us rent their kitchen/oven for a few hours for $8! It was such a neat, unique experience! Then another neighbor invited us to come to her house and use her mixer to make the frosting. What an experience! The Whoppie Pies weren’t a complete success, but we still had a fun time making them. We have such an awesome neighborhood with such a family feel!

Loading up 10 trays for the oven big!

On Saturday one of my student’s mothers invited me and four of my friends to her family’s house for a birthday lunch. She even gave me full reign in her kitchen to make peanut butter cookies! What a treat, first because my oven is broken and I love baking and second because I have been deprived of peanut butter because I refuse to pay the $5-8 that it costs for a small jar of it! It was a wonderful day spent with a wonderful family. On Sunday (my actual birthday day), I woke up to a birthday breakfast of French toast by my wonderful roomie Marianne, followed by church and then lunch out with friends. I also received the birthday gift of two students calling me at home to wish me a happy birthday as well as chats with family and friends from home.

Birthday lunch of yummy meat and veggies on the Raclette Grills!

The following Thursday was a half day of school. After school, I was invited to have lunch with my aide at a family’s restaurant. Then, they took us to meet other students and parents at an indoor pool where they had a pool/pizza party for my birthday. My students and their parents blessed me with such nice gestures, notes, kind words, and gifts for my birthday.

Splish! Splash! Fun at the pool!

Birthday party gang

SPRING SURPRISES

Even though Bogota has almost no change of seasons, I am still experiencing the joy that spring always brings! In my own personal life, the most new and exciting thing is that I am soon going to be an aunt—twice! I’ve been dreaming of this day! I am so excited for my family and the soon-to-come expansion of the Thiesen family. J Also, one of my brothers recently moved into a new house and my other brother is in the process of moving. There will be so many new things to see when I return to PA!

March also brought about a new roomie for me. The second week of March the lady in charge of housing at school asked if a girl could come stay with us and share my room, arriving that weekend and staying for two weeks, doing her junior practicum. We said, why not? So Melissa from Moody Bible Inst. was my roomie for two weeks. It was fun to have “new blood” around and to show her as much of Bogota as we had time for. We also got to go on a little weekend trip to beautiful Villa de Leyva, a quiet and quaint Colonial town about four hours from Bogota. It was a nice little escape. I forget I’m living in the hustle and bustle and noise of a city until I leave Bogota and realize how quiet it is. Will New Holland seem really quiet when I go home this summer?

Villa de Leyva

JUNE IS SNEAKING UP…SO, WHAT’S NEXT?

Well, when I decided to come to Bogota I always imagined it would be for just one year. The thought of two years away from home just seemed so overwhelmingly long and unmanageable. However, I quickly found myself thinking about next year when this year had just begun. I began thinking that maybe I couldn’t write off a second year so quickly. I have been so happy and content at ECA. God has allowed me to really enjoy life here, and to feel safe and comfortable. I never imagined the transition to life and work in Bogota to be so easy and feel so natural. But, I recognize it as being completely God’s doing because I don’t normally adjust to change so easily or quickly, and it completely amazes me. So, in February I began to process the decision more intentionally and seriously through much thought and prayer. Beth, the director of ECA, would occasionally ask if I was anywhere closer to making a decision, and when she mentioned that there was a board meeting on March 8, I decided to make March 7 my personal deadline for making a decision. I knew in my heart that I felt I wanted to and should stay, but I wanted to make sure it was where God wanted me. That was the only thing keeping me from making the commitment. When March 7 rolled around, I felt confident in saying that yes, I was going to stay and be at ECA a second year. So, I signed up to meet with Beth and make my decision official. I felt so good to say it and to know where I’d be next year.

My Class

So just when I thought that all the big decisions were made, something else presented itself. I had just assumed I’d teach second grade again, it only seemed logical. However, as of recently, I have been feeling like I shouldn’t just assume that that is where I should be, considering the current third grade teacher is not returning, leaving the third grade position open. Actually, it was comments from a few other people that got this ball rolling in my head. I met with my principal this week to share this thought with her, and after discussing the pros and cons of staying in second or looping on to third grade with my students, we decided I should spend more time in prayer about it and that moving to third grade would be a very real option. I personally recognize many pros and cons to both sides and am trying to discern where the Lord wants me as well as process what would be best for the students and for me.

Anyway, I will officially be back in the states June 8-July 28. Hope to have the chance to catch up with you all over that time. Can’t wait!

LIFE LEARNINGS

This month has had so many exciting and positive highlights, but has also probably been one of my hardest emotionally. My birthday, early in the month, was the real first emotion bumb that I hit (until then, it was smooth sailing) since coming to Colombia. I think this was for several reasons. First, because it was my first birthday totally away from family and not with either triplet. Also, I had seen so many of my friends have visits in Bogota from family members, and I knew that not only was that not going to happen for me, I don’t even have good communication with my triplet sister and best friend Steph who is in Zambia because of distance/poor internet. Second, while I don’t often think of or struggle with my singleness, when my birthday rolls around and I think about getting older and still being (and always having been) single, this is when it hits me. Anyway, I am a crier, but hadn’t really had any big cries since being in Bogota, until this time. I think it’s just how God made me though, sometimes I just have to have a big cry, and He doesn’t even let me know when it’ll happen or sometimes even why, it just has to happen. In this case, though, I think it was simply that feelings of loneliness and homesickness were sinking in.

Anyway, some of these feelings are still lingering, and I think it is because things are already starting to change with the end of the year coming. People are trying to figure out what’s next for them and are preoccupied with getting ready to head in different directions come June. I knew next year would be different, but I didn’t expect things to already start changing.

At times I also struggle with feeling inadequate. I let myself think that I’m not as good or appreciated as other teachers at ECA. Or that I’m not loved or appreciated enough by my friends. Or that my work in Bogota doesn’t mean much because I am working with people mostly in middle and upper classes.

I know these thoughts are not from God though, and I’m working to shake them. I am asking God to free me of these thoughts and to instead help me to find my meaning and value in him alone, rather than comparing myself to others or feeling I need to prove myself to others, which leads to jealousy, bitterness and gossip. I write this as a way for me to process my thoughts and also to ask you to join me in prayer about this.

I recently watched a new Colombian movie, The Colors of the Mountain (watch the trailer here: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi402823705/), which takes a look at struggles that Colombia has with violence between different people groups (FARC, Paramilitaries, government, locals), fighting for land/power, especially in the remote mountainsides. This, along with visiting one of Pablo Escobar’s (major drug lord) fincas (turned into a museum) last month has really opened my eyes to Colombia’s struggles. While many of Colombia’s biggest struggles are now in its past, it is very recent history, and there are still struggles with drugs, violence, kidnappings, and corruption. There is still much to overcome. This reminds me why a school like ECA, training up students to be Christian leaders who can help impact their country positively, is so important.

Check it out!

PRAYER PLEASE

• For strength and energy to finish out the year strong, with passion and commitment
• As I make the decision about which grade to teach next year
• Student Sung-Eun who just moved away
• Relationships among students in second grade
• High school team going on a mission trip to the Amazon next week
• Filling ECA’s teacher needs for the 2011-2012 school year

More Birthdays

March (and the beginning of April) was packed with birthdays in our classroom!

Happy Birthday,
Simon, Pablo, Sung-Eun, Hanna, and Antonella!

Meet Simon!

Simon has a younger sister and an older brother who also both attend ECA. His mother is from New Zealand (Simon is my twin...we're the only blondies in class!) and his dad is Colombian . His parents work in full-time ministry. Simon enjoys being with his family and friends. He works really hard in school, always doing his best and taking pride in his work. Simon is a good student and friend. Simon has a heart for sharing Jesus with those who do not yet know and love him, and he reminds us to pray for these people during prayer times. My prayer for Simon is that he will never lose this genuine concern for non-believers and that he will be bold in sharing Jesus with them!

Meet Pablo!

Pablo has three older brothers who also attend ECA and his mother also works at ECA. Pablo's favorite colors are red, blue, and orange (notice the balloon). He loves playing soccer and drawing. His favorite food is anything his mom makes! Pablo is very close to his family and enjoys vacationing in Villa de Leyva (small town about 4 hours from Bogotá) with them. Pablo is a very enthusiastic student. He is always attentive, raising his hand with a story to share or an answer to give. My prayer for Pablo is that he will always find his value in Christ alone and that will give Him all the glory and honor for his life.

Meet Sung-Eun!

We said Happy Birthday and Good-Bye to Sung-Eun on the same day (March 29)! :(
Sung-Eun has one older sister who also attended ECA. Her parents are both Korean, and her dad was working as a Pastor at a Korean church in Bogotá before their mission relocated her family. Her family just left for Korea where they will spend four months in training before moving on to different countries in South/Central America.

Sung-Eun's favorite food is noodles (her classmates also loved when she would share her seaweed with them at lunchtime). Sung-Eun also takes ballet and violin lessons. Sung-Eun was a great friend to all her classmates and will be greatly missed! I will miss her big hugs at the end of each day. Please pray for her as she adjusts to a new home and school. She is very shy and timid, so this could be a very hard adjustment for her. (Also pray for her closest friend at ECA, Valeria, as she adjusts to school and life without her best friend.)

Meet Hanna!

Hannah has two sisters, one younger and one older, who both attend ECA. Both of her parents also work at ECA, so she spends a lot of time at school (sometimes she helps me in the classroom after school). Hanna loves to play soccer. She was also very happy to receive her first Puffle (biggest fad in toys to hit second grade this year) as a birthday gift from her best friend! Hanna is shy in class, but not outside of class! Her giggles, smiles, and hugs (and her curls!) brighten my day! My prayer for Hanna is that she will continue to always stand strong and bold in her beliefs and convictions, not letting others sway her.

Meet Antonella!

Antonella has one older brother who is in fourth grade at ECA. Antonella's father is French and her mother is from the coast of Colombia. Together her parents own and run a French bakery and restaurant in Bogotá, where her father is the head chef. Her family uses their restaurant as their ministry, building relationships with their staff and customers and generously sharing their yummy breads and pastries at different school functions. Antonella is in ballet, which she loves. Her favorite food is sushi and her favorite color is purple. Antonella is both shy and outgoing. My prayer for her is that she will be a strong leader in her friend group, standing firm to her beliefs and convictions, worrying more about pleasing God than her friends.