First Day of School

I promise to update from the summer soon. I've been busy and haven't had the time to do it just yet.



Monday was the first day of the new school year. Students arrived with lots of brand new pencils, notebooks and supplies. They were eager to get to class and play with their friends. I have a big class this year with 20 first graders. Eleven of them are in special English classes because they're level of English is really low. It will be an adventurous year that is for sure.


Please pray for a few little guys who are completely lost in the English. I want them to enjoy school and not feel so overwhelmed by it all that they don't hate coming to school.

Graduation Time

Well the 2009-2010 school year has officially ended. The year has been full of blessings, learning and much progress for my little first graders.

At NCA we continue one of our objectives as teachers is to help our students think of others before themselves. We strive to instill in them a heart of service. The elementary teachers organized a day of service activities for all of the students in first - sixth grade the last week of school. The kids did everything from sanding the playground equipment, picking up trash, washing chairs to painting a new mural on the playground.

This year I was able to attend the 6th grade graduation for my first class of first graders at NCA. This group has been very special to me during my time here in Nicaragua. I have seen them grow and mature into confident leaders and compassionate servants. What a special treat to have been able to see their growth throughout the years.





Graduating at the same time was the kindergarten class that will be moving up to first grade next Fall. They are an energetic group with lots of potential for learning, exploring and growing next year.



Two days later the senior class of 2010 graduated as well. Paola Fuentes a super responsible and incredibly gifted gal was part of this class. She is Alcides and Slieny's oldest daughter. Paola and I have worked together on teams during the past few years. It was a true honor to see her celebrate this special occasion. Paola graduated valedictorian of her class and has received many scholarships to study at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The RAIN has come!!

Yeah!! After a really dry Dry season the rains have finally come. They have washed away the brown dust cloud that has covered our world for a while. :-) The lush greenness has returned to the country I love.

Along with the green plant life we've also seen some other types of growth that come with the rain. Mold! Yep, it comes in a variety of shapes, colors and quantities. Below are a few pics of the mold that is growing on the grout between the ceramic tile in our house. We tried to get rid of it by scrubbing the floor with bleach water. That worked for all of 4 hours until the mold grew back again. Crazy eh!! I know that I was sure surprised by how quickly it grew. Oh well we'll keep trying to fight it off as best we can. :-) Until then we'll be amazed by this incredible phenomenon.

Rumors

The High Schoolers at NCA have been working on for the past three months on a Play. Rumors by Neil Simon was the play chosen. It is a hysterical play filled with corny jokes, physical humor and a funny storyline. I had the opportunity to help out with costumes and the set along with my roommate Kate. We had fun coordinating lots of random furniture pieces, housewares and clothing to bring the whole play together.

Here are some pictures of the preparations and the final product!



Kate and I went the second hand store looking for some props we got a little distracted by the bouncy exercise thingy and the SNOWBOARD in Nicaragua.





After spending 7 hours moving, painting, creating and prepping the set and the cast in 90+ degree weather we were worn out. Good thing the Wolf slippers make a good pillow.



The finished set no that is not a bottle of alcohol on the floor it is an empty bottle of sparkling cider. :-)


The cast

The evening was a success and the cast did a great job!

Road mark or Roadblock

It is hard to believe that it has been one month since my world was turned upside down with the news of my brother's death.

Road marks or milestones as some call them are those special birthdays, anniversaries and points in your life where a decision, event or life-change begins. Sometimes when you reach those milestones they can seem like a roadblock. There is a feeling of being paralyzed and unable to put one foot in front of the other in order to keep moving forward. Over time the feeling comes back and the steps become a little easier. Though each step still carries with it the memory of those who are no longer walking with you. The roadblock is dismantled and moved aside and one can continue on their journey.

In the midst of my grief God has remained faithful and always by my side. This song has helped me with the words I can't seem to come up with on my own.

Desert Song
Hillsong United

Verse 1:
This is my prayer in the desert
And all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is a God who provides

My God is the God who provides all that I have needed from hugs, prayer, financial help to go home to be with my family, friends who listen and cry with me....

Verse 2:
And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

Lord as I pass through this fire I pray that you would refine me and make me to shine your love and light even brighter.

Chorus:
And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain

I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

Deuteronomy 32:39
Now see that I, even I, am He,
And there is no God besides Me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.

Verse 3:
And this is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it's way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

Bridge:
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

Psalm 57:2
"I will cry to the God most high, to God who accomplishes all things for me."

Verse 4:
This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow

Lord use this time in my life to be a blessing to others in ways that I cannot yet know and understand.

I've updated my prayer requests on the side of my blog. Please continue to lift up in prayer the work in Nicaragua.

Good-bye Don

My brother's wishes were to be cremated and his ashes buried with his wife Jessilyn. Today is our final good-bye. We will place him in the ground. I wish I had something profound to say.

Kelvin Don Franklin departed this world on February 28, 2010. Kelvin Don was born October 30, 1983 in Lawton, Oklahoma. He was a loving son, brother, husband and friend.
Kelvin or Kiev as many knew him spent every waking moment madly in love with his wife Jessilyn. His life was spent loving and helping others. He was captivated by the cosmos and loved to study the stars and dreamed of being an astronomer. To some, Don was seen as quiet but to those who knew him well they appreciated his great sense of humor. He immensely enjoyed participating in the Scarborough Faire and was an active member of the Scarborough Royal Guard and Halberdiers.

Kelvin Don is survived by his parents Don Franklin and Laura Graves, his three sisters Carylla, Marnie and Bethany Franklin, and one nephew Corbin Franklin.

Kelvin Don was preceded in death by his loving wife Jessilyn Franklin. Grandparents Vernal and Beatrice Franklin, and Bill and Bettye White.


Don I miss you dearly! I wish you were still here and we could go on that bike ride we always talked about.

Procedures and Routines, Rules and Consequences

Hmm.... sounds like a lot of teacher stuff eh! Well you're right! This weekend has been full of opportunities to work with Nicaraguan teachers.

Friday a group of teachers from NCA went to Colegio Hosanna Sur and did two work shops. One group of NCA teachers worked with the upper elementary and secondary teachers while the other group worked with the lower elementary teachers. There was lots of creativity shared and fun lessons and objectives written or discussed during our time together. Our group acted out the life cycle of a plant. It was a very artistic dramatization. :-)

Saturday I was invited to a small town 45 minutes from Managua to share some teaching strategies with teachers at a local public school. 7 wonderful women were there. We had a great time working through some classroom management ideas. God showed up in a very special way as we were talking about building relationships with our students and making an impact in their lives. God opened up the door for us to talk about Him and the value of prayer with our students. In Nicaragua there are no hard and fast rules about religion in the schools therefore making it possible for these teachers to pray with their students. It was a wonderfully sweet time.



Here are some of the ladies making their rules posters to take back to their classrooms. They were so excited to write out their Positive Responsabilities for their students to follow. Pray for these seven women that as they go to their classroom on Monday that the Lord would grant them strength, creativity, patience and lots of love for their students.





I continue to praise God for the opportunities he has granted me to share with teachers here in Nicaragua. I pray that he would continue to use me in meaningful ways in the field of education.