Hey there!
I have been back in my little house for three weeks, and have had a strange but welcome addition to my life: I have a temporary housemate! My superintendent approached me twice last semester about potential housemates, once a week after I moved in, and once a week before I left for Christmas break. I hesitantly said that I would consider the idea the first time, but the teacher they were interviewing ending up turning down the offer. The second time I said I was willing to meet the new math teacher that was coming to fill a vacancy we had in junior high, but I also told Dr. Slocum that I was really enjoying having my own place. I know everyone is different, but for this first year teacher, it has been so nice to have a real sanctuary where I can hide, dance, pray out loud, talk to myself, and stay up all hours of the night lesson planning. Dr. Slocum seemed to be worried that I was getting walloped with utility bills, but that really hasn’t been too much of a problem. Besides that, he was just sure that the candidate and I would just be a perfect fit for housemates, because she had just returned from student teaching in the Philippines and she is a “religious person,” as Dr. Slocum put it. Apparently he told the candidate the latter fact about me as well. I told him that I didn’t really want or need a housemate, if she had other options for housing, but that I would meet her anyway.
I did meet her briefly the day of her interview, and I found out that she would be living in the apartment that had been vacated by her predecessor, but only after his things had been cleaned out, which he had requested a week’s extension to do. This teacher that she was replacing had reportedly gone to celebrate Christmas with friends or family, but no one knew exactly where he was. Since he is from Africa and had gotten into some legal trouble in South Dakota, many were skeptical about whether or not he would get his apartment cleared out. Anyway, this particular woman did get the job, and is living with me until an official decision is made about the apartment.
Her name is Amanda Benson, and she is not only a religious person but is a solid, sold-out Christian. After Dr. Slocum had told her that I was a “religious person,” she tentatively began to hope that I was a Christian, despite the vagueness of the term “religious.” She had just about convinced herself that I was probably a Mormon, since there is a big Mormon church right down the street from my house. But we quickly established on meeting each other that she grew up Baptist and I grew up Lutheran, and that we seem to be on the same page in everything that is really important. She is about a year younger than I, and she attended Grace University, a Christian college in Omaha. Her student teaching experience was somewhat similar to mine, but in other ways was very different, most particularly because she was student teaching quite a bit longer than I did and was at a Christian school in Manila, Faith Academy. I found out that she has been to Ecuador as well, when she went on a mission trip to Quito. As you can imagine, we have already started to become quite good friends and have plans to travel the world together, starting with Israel and then going anywhere after that.
Praise God that we are so compatible, because we got some quality bonding time during our first week back at school. We had three snow days in a row! I really don’t think we got very much snow, but high winds caused a ridiculous amount of drifting, and they caused very dangerous wind chill temperature. Amanda and I went out every day, though, because we wanted to take advantage of the time to get things done downtown. Unfortunately, this is no help if businesses in town are closed for the same reason that the schools are, which was at least the case at the library and the telephone authority. Besides errands, we both got a considerable amount of school stuff done, which meant we could take time to kick back over the weekend. I made Indian pizza, which is just pizza on frybread, for the first time on Friday night, and we watched PS I Love You, which I really enjoyed a lot! I took Amanda to church with me on Sunday, and it was the perfect Sunday to be there, because there was a potluck. That evening Amanda and I went to Dairy Queen with Carla and Barb, two other teachers, and then we hopped back into our week.
I always consider it a good sign when I am super excited to be some place after a break, and I was glad to be back at the EAGLE Center. It really is the perfect place for me right now. I have no idea how long God wants me to stay here, but I can’t imagine a situation which would be better for me—not easier, not more fun, but just better. I really am all about small classes, one-on-one interaction with kids, and the supportive relationship that staff members have with each other. It’s been so great to be with my kids again for a week, and we have about ten new students so far this semester. We have a bit of a “revolving door” issue, so some of these kids have been in our program before, but I haven’t met any of them until now. One already finished reading the freshman book in less than a week, and many of them are seniors who only have a few credits left, so getting them all started might be a bit of a whirlwind.
I’ve stretched my writing time for this post out a little more than usual, so now it’s been a while and there have been a few more developments. The first one is that we got nearly all of the students back that we lost last semester, which I have extremely mixed feelings about. Some in particular really are stuck if we don’t take them back in, and would only have the GED program to turn to. On the other hand, we really gave all of them ample chances to make up attendance and get work done last semester. I do bend over backward for my kids, because I love them, but if they don’t respond, I feel like there must be some consequences. I think we are sending them a mixed message by doing this, but it’s not my choice and really doesn’t seem to be my principal’s choice, either. We are putting them on special schedules and contracts, and keeping them all in one area, so we’re not just letting them come back free and clear, but still, it bothers me. At the same time, I will be particularly glad to have a few of them back!
I had an enjoyable weekend that I am just coming off of, and now am in a very interesting week! On Thursday night I lost power in my trailer due to storms and ice, and since I was already planning to take a personal day and travel to Osceola, Wisconsin for a youth workers’ retreat, I dug out some candles, emptied perishables from my fridge, put them on my deck, and left a note explaining the situation to my still sleeping housemate, and took off to beat the snowstorm that I had heard was on the way. Thank God, I arrived safely in Minnesota without too much cause for alarm, except very poor visibility for a while, and then I had supper with my family and let my mom come with me to the retreat. The retreat was wonderfully refreshing, and I will expand on it later, but highlights were the small group discussions we had, the encouraging conversations I had with Renee, one of the speakers, bonding time with my mom, and catching up with several good friends. We also went to the movie To Save a Life, which I would recommend. Maybe I will post a review later. ; )
Anyway, that personal day I had planned to take ended up being moot, since school was canceled anyway, and it is also canceled Monday, Tuesday, and however many more days we have until the power in our whole coverage area is back on! So I am enjoying the hospitality of my parents for at least a few days, and I was able to get to the eye doctor today, which was very convenient. I was almost out of contacts!
Please pray for everyone who is out of service right now, that everyone would be safe and would have options for food and shelter! Also pray for all the new students I have and those who have been given grace for another semester, that they would wake up and get to work, and that they would realize the gift they have been given! Pray that Amanda would be able to move into her apartment soon (though it’s not as though I’m not enjoying her!), and that she would continue to get to know her students and have plenty of wisdom as she begins her journey as a real teacher! I love you all! Christina Joy
