Hit the Books!

Well, in the "figure of speech" way that is... As the librarian here at NVA, I have the opportunity to run reading programs that inspire the children to read! Yay! Last year the theme was "Hop into Reading" with frogs leaping off the pages of parent letters and reading log sheets. This year I went with "Start an Adventure, Read a Book", with sketches of overweight cartoon hikers marching the perimeters of the pages. With weekly goals and prizes, I've managed to capture the attention of K-6 with a whopping 70% participation... amazing what a little bouncy ball or sucker can do! Unfortunately, the 7th and 8th graders aren't as easily won over. It's only 3 weeks long, and we're finishing up our second week... the class with the most participation wins a party hosted by me and Coach Eddy... Yay for reading!

We are well into our 6 month here and are deep into culture adjustment. On the whole we are doing well, but we have noticed an increase in fatigue and impatience! People warned us that exhaustion sets in fast and sleeping the usual 8 hours just doesn't cut it the first year. With language adjustments, culture differences, climate adaptation, relational nuances- we must allow ourselves time to process and change. It is not an easy task and we can feel the stress and pressure not only mentally, but physically and spiritually as well.

We have been considering taking a brief "break" over Christmas, school has time off for the holidays and family has frequent flyer miles. With the encouragement from some long termers here who recommend leaving the country every 6 months or so, we feel it would be a great time to get some R&R before entering the new year and the next semester here at NVA. The trick is my passport- which is still in security.

Please pray that the passport is released and the visa issued so that we can freely travel both inside and outside the country!! Without this I cannot leave... and if returned to me without a visa, I cannot return!

Photos: The Library- Start an Adventure, Read a Book! with class particiation thermometeres (we hadn't started yet)... A few old classics that are on our shelves...