What I'm Listening To

I don't buy very many albums. Recently, however, I have made two very worthwhile purchases. Folky, singer-songwriter, good harmonies, a little edgy, lyrics-that-make-you-think kind of music. So here's a little glimpse into what I'm listening to these days!

We Don't Belong by Sara Masterson. Sara and I sang in Concert Choir together at Wheaton for a few years. She lives and performs in the Chicago area. I haven't decided yet if I prefer this album or her EP, Hale Street Sessions. They're both great! www.saramasterson.com

Barton Hollows by The Civil Wars. This duo sounds like the Appalachians (I can see my 20th century music history teacher cringing as I write these words!) and has a more raw sound - it's just their voices, guitar, and piano. Again, great lyrics and great harmonies. Dustin and I cover the song Poison and Wine off this album, as well as their cover of Billie Jean. I'm excited to hear more from this band! http://thecivilwars.com

Jesus died for our fish

One of the wonderful things about being a first grade teacher is that my kids say hilarious things pretty much all the time. Recently, we've been talking about Semana Santa (Holy Week) and why we celebrate it, and our conversations have provoked some serious laughing fits on my part! Here are some snapshots into my conversations with my kids.

Me: What happened during Semana Santa?
Kids: Santa comes and brings us presents!

Me: What did Jesus do during Semana Santa?
Kids: He died on the cross of horse! (Caballo, horse, is pretty similar to Calvario, Calvary - I'll give them partial credit for that one!)

Me: That's right, Jesus died on the cross. He died to take away our...
Kids: Fish! (pescado, fish, is VERY similar to pecado, sin)
Me: Um... (laughing) no, no, no, Jesus died to take away our SINS. (this is where I launch into a phonics lesson and we read the words pescado and pecado a few times) Jesus died to take away our sins and give us life...
Kids (finally!): eternal! (they got it!)

Even when we're not talking theology, my kids are pretty great. On Wednesday we were learning the letter Z, which makes an s sound in Spanish.
Me: We know lots of words that start with z! Who is the character on Dora the Explorer who starts with s-s-s and always steals things from us? (I was going for Zorro, the Spanish name for Swiper.)
Kids: SATAN! (at the top of their little lungs. They did eventually figure out it was Zorro.)

Later that day, we were reading The Little Red Hen and talking about how we should help other people.

Me: Should we help our friends? Kids: Yes.
Me: Should we help our neighbors? Kids: Yes.
Me: Should we help everybody? Kids: Yes.
Kids: Except Satan. We can't help Satan. That makes God sad. That's a fish. (refer to previous convo!)
Me: That's right. We don't help Satan. But we help other people. Why do we help them?
Kids: Because if we don't help them they won't give us bread. (Completely logical conclusion, since that's what happens in the book, but not quite the universal application I was going for!)

Moral of the story: I love my first graders. And if you come visit my class, they will say hilarious things for you, too - all of these happened on one day while we had a visitor, who got to laugh along with me!

So as you think about Good Friday and Easter, pray that God will help me get it into my kids' heads that Jesus died for our sins, not our fish!

Big News!

It's time. After much anticipation, hours of writing (I had to cut a lot out!), and a week of waiting for snail mail to arrive at people's homes, I can finally post my latest update letter! This letter is a summary of the last year-ish here in the DR. It will clue you in about my work, friends, church, and life in general. But most importantly, it announces my big news:

I am staying in the Dominican Republic until May 2012! This is an extension of my original commitment, which would have ended this July. My letter explains what my role at the Care Center will be next year. (Yes, that's a ploy to make you read it instead of being satisfied by this little blurb!)

Click on the images to enlarge each page. If you didn't receive a paper copy of my update but would like one, or would like to receive my (occasional) email updates, please let me know! Thanks for reading!