Monday, Owen (the high school principal) spent most of the day teaching us the 9 essentials skills for using Love and Logic in the classroom. We finished up this morning. It is an approach to discipline that I've used parts of in my classroom over the last several years, really without realizing it (and it works!). Love and Logic is based largely on a positive relationship between the teacher and student. It teaches the importance of empathy, giving choices to the students, and setting limits with a positive tone. There are many things I still need to implement within my own classroom.

After orientation a few of us walked to La Sirena again to pick up a few necessities to get through this short week at home. I'm mastering checking out at the store without assistance. (Actually, I just watch the screen to figure out how many pesos I owe, the whole time praying the cashier doesn't try to speak to me in Spanish! And if they do I just shake my head no.) It's working. When we returned home Allison brought over some tools to put my bedside table together. She had just put the same one together at her house and knew what mistakes not to make the second time. She did a great job showing me how to do it and not just doing it herself. I'm terrible at reading directions from pictures, but seeing someone do it makes it much easier. It was definitely a sense of accomplishment for both of us to see it together and with sliding drawers that worked! I stayed back when the girls decided to walk to Bravo (another grocery story), a craft store, sweetFrog (a frozen yogurt place), and a pet store (where they sell monkeys?). However, I will eventually get to try sweetFrog and go to the craft store (which I've heard I will like). I was able to Skype my sister, Beth, which was nice since I hadn't talked to her since I'd left the states. 

Today, after orientation I was able to work for a couple hours on my classroom. The books are somewhat organized. All my "office supplies" are finding places in my desk or on the shelves by my desk. The shelves and boards are dusted. And so far I haven't found any critters living in my room. Little by little. 

Occasionally there are things that happen that remind me I am no longer living in Illinois. For example, coming home on the bus this afternoon there was a random cow hanging out on the sidewalk of one of the neighborhoods. Someone made a joke about organic free range beef (or at least that's the Spanish part I understood). Or the washer taking two hours to fill with water then saying finished, but it never washes/rinses the soap out. Maybe it's when I see clothes drying all over the shelves in my closet because we don't have the clothesline hung to put the wet clothes. But, these are small things in the grand scheme of life. Yes, I may go to school with clumps of soap in my clothes that never rinsed out, but that's okay.

I'm so thankful for our maid (her first time was today) who reorganized the few things in my bedroom to make it feel more welcoming, cleaned our apartment top to bottom, put away our new kitchen items that had been laying out for a week, and so much more. It was wonderful to walk in the door and see a clean, tidy apartment after a busy day. I didn't have this in Illinois (well, my mom did a lot but she wasn't paid :)).

I'd like to finish with my thoughts on the devotions for the last two days, both shared by Sheila. Yesterday she shared about Peter. I can identify with Peter. He messed up and failed many times, and so have I. But Jesus saw potential in him. He saw past Peter's failures and mistakes. Jesus could have given up on Peter at any point, but He didn't. He kept going out to Peter, encouraging him to keep on going. Jesus showed Peter grace, just as He does for each of us. Sheila reminded us that just as God shows us grace time and again, we need to show grace to our students- to give them a clean slate every day, sometimes every hour. God sees great potential in each of my students and my prayer is that God would give me eyes to see that same potential. Today Sheila's encouragement was that "where I plant my feet is crucial for my success"- they should be firmly planted by the Source of the stream. She shared about Joseph, how in the midst of all of his overwhelming circumstances he was still prospering, because he was planted by the Source. People could see God IN Joseph even in the hard times, because Joseph was so in tune with God. In times of great success and great failures I must be firmly planted, spiritually fed, praying without ceasing, in tune with my Source of life and strength. It really challenged me, because I tend to be so busy that I forget or push off my times with God. Then, when I need that strength or wisdom in times of storms, I am lacking. The Bible says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask..." It's crucial that I find that "nugget of truth" every day. I love that verse in Jeremiah 17:8, "They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." This is how I want to live every day, firmly planted by the Source.