January 5

Dear Friends,

Snow for Christmas and New Years

What a ‘vacation’ we have had -- two snowstorms: one that necessitated a Gallop stay and the other kept us in Albuquerque longer than expected-- frozen water pipes, blown fuses, loss of power area-wide, lack of hot water … It will be great to get back to normal. We did enjoy the visit from our David and my brother and celebrating Christmas with them (late). The snow/ice covered roads filled in the pot-holes, so the drives were slippery, but not bumpy. They loved God’s creation here, especially Canyon de Chelly (pronounced Shay), which we plan to revisit in the summer.

My class will be missing one student tomorrow because the family is planning to move. This child could potentially ‘fall through the cracks,’ so pray that this is a good move for him. I’ve heard rumors that another one might not be returning, but nothing is official. These children have unsettled lives to begin with, so we pray that he will remain in a stable place.

Fun in a shoebox!

It was fun to celebrate Christmas with the children. People love gift-giving no matter what culture they are from! They all became familiar with the Biblical Christmas story and learned many traditional Christmas songs. My mom had quite a few holiday pins, so each girl got one for her very own. However, I think they were more thrilled with the ‘Frozen’ stocking I put it in. They were so excited about their shoebox of gifts from Mr. Tiger’s home church and their big toy from Toys for Tots.

Now, just for fun December incidents:

·      One boy, who is perpetually in trouble and struggles with grades, was given a spontaneous round of applause when someone noted that he had not gotten his name on the board all day!

·      A girl discovered that my first name was Sara, but she knew it would be disrespectful to call me Sara instead of Mrs. Everett or Teacher. I told her it was just like she called her mom “mom” instead of her first name. She stared at me and responded, “My mom doesn’t have a first name.”

Who are these cute kids?

·      A boy informed me that his older brother was covered with tattoos. Then he said, “My brother used to be bad, but now he knows Jesus.” (Hallelujah!)

·      Roger was checking out the boys’ behavior in the restroom, and he heard one of my boys in the stall singing “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus.”

Making a paper chain

·      The first graders are still puzzled about the deity of Jesus. You should have seen the looks of incredulity when I told them that Jesus was much smarter than Mrs. Everett. (Maybe they just couldn’t believe I said that.)

·      Roger asked the children to journal on what they would like for Christmas. One boy wrote: I just want to be with my family (awww) … and get an Ipad.

Anyway, we’ve cleared away the Christmas decorations, finished the fruitcake, written the thank-you notes, and are ready to begin again. Roger will have a new fourth grade girl, so please pray that she fits in well and he has the wisdom to reach her academically and spiritually.

Blessings

With family at Window Rock.