EL AMOR GANA

and a Happy New Year *<:)

2011-01-05T19:16:00.003-06:00

These are the little ones I'm going back to in 5 days. They were singing a traditional Spanish Christmas song at this elementary performance and definitely were the best grade!

FYI: I am still looking for anyone willing to join the team to help with support for the next 6 months. My needs are currently at about $200 a month for this time. See two posts previous for more information. Thanks and may God bless your 2011!

Merry Christmas...

2010-12-18T17:09:00.003-06:00

Support Letter

2010-12-16T18:15:00.001-06:00

November 2010

To friends and family of Marissa,

We at El Camino Academy in Bogota, Colombia have the privilege of having Marissa Lavigne serving as our third grade teacher for the second year in a row. Though she is fairly new to teaching, she is creating a reputation as an outstanding teacher who uses creativity to keep her students interested. Responsible and a good team player, Marissa has built positive relationships with students, parents and our other staff. She has learned much about our Colombian culture here and grown in her multi-cultural skills.

El Camino Academy (ECA) is a non-profit, interdenominational Christian school founded in 1980 in the city of Bogotá, Colombia, to serve foreign missionary families and other Christian families. ECA extended this educational opportunity to other families, and we currently serve around 23 missions, 172 families and 285 students from the United States, Canada, various South American countries, Korea, and various European countries. ECA provides a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade program with a United States curriculum, taught completely in English. About 88% of our students speak English as a second or third language. Accredited by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) since 1998, ECA has been also accredited by the Colombian Secretary of Education since 2003. All graduating students receive an American high school diploma and may also complete requirements for a Colombian diploma.

Due to the high percentage of our families (over 50%) that have one or both parents dedicated to full-time ministry (working with street kids, drug addicts, displaced Indians, single teen moms, pastoring churches, counseling, Bible teaching, or serving in other outreaches), our school income is limited and teachers do not receive full salaries, but a small stipend to help with some expenses. Each of our foreign teachers is asked to raise some of his/her own financial support so that we can continue to serve the Christian community here in Bogota, Colombia and invest in the discipleship and training of our bi-cultural and bi-lingual students who are so well-suited to use their skills to impact the world with Christ’s love.

As we as a foreign staff raise part of our support, each person who invests in us as teachers or administrators, is also investing in the next generation of leaders that will serve here in Colombia and all over the world. Our goal is to train our students to be servant-leaders and it is a privilege to invest in this special group of students. Your gifts allow us to continue to give partial scholarships to worthy students whose parents are heavily involved in ministry, both foreign missionary kids and Colombian students whose parents have dedicated themselves to sharing God’s message of reconciliation.

We would love to have Marissa be supported fully so she can focus on her ministry here with our students. I would like to ask you to pray about the possibility of being part of the team that prays for and invests financially in Marissa’s ministry with our elementary students. Please email Marissa (marissalavigne@eca.edu.co) to let her know how you might want to be a part of her team. Then you can send checks either to her personally at 20148 Gary Lane, Livonia, MI, 48152, or for a tax exemption slip, please send a notification to Marissa, and your check made out to RCE with the account #11180 (without her name) to RCE International, PO Box 4528, Wheaton, IL 60189.

Thank you for being a part of this great effort of making a difference in the lives of our 285 students, and in Marissa’s case, our elementary students. We appreciate your prayers and any gift you might be able to give to help Marissa serve with us this school year.

In God’s name,

Beth Afanador

Director

El Camino Academy

www.eca.edu.co (feel free to check out our website to learn more about our school)

PS If you have any questions I could help you with, feel free to contact me at bethafanador@eca.edu.co .

~Under the Sea~

2010-12-16T17:01:00.004-06:00

Remember last year's theme "In the Rainforest?" Well this year, it was all about being "Under the Sea!" We had a special guest visitor who is a scuba diving instructor and he brought in his equipment and let us try it on and showed us some real pictures of the reefs around Colombia. My students have been completely absorbed by this experience...pun intended =)

Juan Pablo and Samuel were playing and were saying, "Oh No!! We ran out of air! AHHH!"

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming swimming...

Here it is! We are ready for our presentations!

Liana Moguel helps out a lot in the classroom and she came to do a presentation on pollution. Each bag contains something that can pollute the earth and sea. She also showed us what oil does to water and how it gets on birds feathers. Colombia is currently in the middle of a big push on Reduce Reuse Recycle, and ECA has already received recognition in our area for recycling!

4th Graders...Last year they got to do the rainforest, and this year they were on the other side of it! They loved the Sea. To get into the classroom, they had to hold their breath until they got inside the "bubble." We watched a clip from Finding Nemo that shows the coral reef and all it's color, then they got to see how many sea animals they knew in the power point presentation. After that, 3rd graders read a few reports on the animals they studied, and I sprayed all the visitors with water! Everyone got a little cup of sea water (powerade) with a candy fish to swim inside. While they explored the sea to find all the animals, I played the "Under the Sea" song from the Little Mermaid...it was great!

And, after all their hard work, the 3rd graders finally got to enjoy their own little candy fishies!

And then we were sharks eating them... ;)

And our bulletin board ->

Videos to come...

2010-12-06T11:54:00.002-06:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101206/wl_nm/us_colombia_landslide

At least 50 missing in Colombian landslide

BOGOTA (Reuters) – At least 50 people were missing in Colombia on Sunday after heavy rains caused a landslide in the northwest of the Andean nation, relief organizations said.

Colombia is experiencing torrential downpours due to the La Nina weather phenomenon. The rains and floods have killed around 170 people so far this year, mostly in recent months, and affected 1.5 million more.

"It's believed that there could be between 50 and 60 people trapped, maybe more," said disaster official John Freddy Rendon in the city of Medellin near where the landslide occurred.

Rendon said more than 50 homes were covered in Bello municipality in Antioquia province.

The Colombian Red Cross said in a statement that at least 150 people were "affected" with an unknown number missing.

It said one body had been recovered.

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos said on Sunday the number of homeless from the rains could reach 2 million.

"The tragedy the country is going through has no precedents in our history," Santos said, after flying over the coastal region of Atlantico to see the situation first hand.

The rains have hindered coffee and coal sectors too.

In neighboring Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez blamed "criminal" capitalism for global climate phenomena including the region's rains that have also killed more than 30 and left tens of thousands homeless in his country.

= Happy Thanksgiving =

2010-11-22T17:19:00.006-06:00

Math... The example for the coin toss activity couldn't have worked more perfectly!! =)

It's really kind of exciting to explain to a group of Colombian children why Thanksgiving is so important to the USA (and to me!). They were so interested in the story =) During Library class, they were making books about being Thankful.

Prayer Request: For the people negatively affected by the abundance of rain we've had this season

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/11/19/colombia.rain.calamity/index.html

Rain is good, but there is such thing as too much of a good thing..

A Smattering of the Big Events as of Late...

2010-11-10T14:26:00.007-06:00

This is self explanatory ;)

Let's see your Bibles!

Science- Squeechy the duckling spent the week with us while studying Life Cycles

Laura, Laura, and Laura!

Lunchhh

Social Studies- Sinbad and the Valley of Snakes

Math- Making a Standard Measurement of one "class foot" length

Umm, hello..

*Buddies*

Social Studies- Chinese Print Block Patterns

Science- Two plants growing in the direction of the sun

Science- Food Chains and Food Webs

Social Studies- Ancient Australian Maori Warriors and Boomerangs

Making a Goodbye sign for Emma...

Goodbye Emma! We'll Miss You!

Hanging out with our friends from Hogar de Paz! (Home of Peace)

Christian Character Day

Guess Who?

Yep, ECA is celebrating 30 years!

The actual family that our Christmas play was about last year! A family from a Colombian tribe outside of the city who became Christians and are now evangelizing.

8 Hours a Day with 8 Year Olds...

2010-10-26T08:25:00.002-05:00

Colombian Pride
That's the flag ;)

Things I'll never figure out...

-How by the end of the day, the desks are only 2 feet away from the front of the classroom
-How I can get asked the exact same questions every day (What do I do with my homework? Umm, turning it in might be a good idea..)
-How their hands can be completely covered in glue or sparkles or something else that is sticky when we weren't using any of those things in class...(and then they are afraid of getting messy when we DO use those things!)
-How they can tell the greatest, most creative stories at all the wrong times, and can't think of anything when we need it in class
-Why do rulers always have to become swords?

Interesting observations...

-If I don't lock the doors to my classroom in the morning, I get mobbed by elementary children of all ages
-Pencils learn too. They learn how to get up and walk away, or just plain disappear right before a test
-The students beg me to eat lunch with them, but I find that on those days, it is very difficult to actually eat lunch
-They come in from PE and recess like a mess with sweaty, red faces, and then ask me if I brushed my hair that day
-I have to laugh at jokes I've heard a 100 times before and pretend I don't know the answer

The Joys...

-Finding notes on the back of spelling tests like this -->

-They tell their moms your favorite color
-After a substitute teacher for 4 days, they celebrate and cheer the day you come back
-They have no idea how easily you can see them at their desks making faces to themselves, picking their noses, or reading in their laps
-You become the subject of every class story or made up song

And I thought tornadoes didn't exist in Colombia...

2010-09-27T09:42:00.004-05:00

This weekend, we had a little tornado touch down right around our school! Construction pieces on the new part of the building were moved around, a couple windows were broken next door, and the guard even saw a calf in the air! Parts of our metal roofing on the old building were also blown off and found sticking out of the ground. All of our internet and telephone connections were down, but praise God no one from our community was hurt, and the wiring was able to be fixed so we could have school today...

http://www.colombianews.tv/news/92610-bogota-strong-winds
(copy and paste this into the browser)

Right next to my classroom!

Lunch area

And I thought tornadoes didn't exist here...

Say hi to...

2010-09-22T16:38:00.002-05:00

~Emma~

Emma is 8 years old and has 7 brothers and sisters and a little dog. Her dad works in the American Embassy. She was born in Peru, has lived in the US, and also has lived in Kenya. She loves the Nintendo characters Daisy and Luigi, and likes to play soccer. Her favorite memory was when she went to Disney World. She got her picture taken with Snow White!

Prayer Requests for Emma:
-She is working with both Spanish and English on top of her dyslexia which can get frustrating. Please pray for good focus, concentration, and improvement this year.
-That she may be a good, encouraging influence on her classmates

-Guy of the Week-

2010-09-14T16:42:00.004-05:00

Santiago!

Santi is 9 years old and has 1 older brother named Nico. He also has a dog named Tommy. He loves to play soccer and he likes the church that he attends called Su Presencia (His Presence). His favorite memory is very recent...his 9th birthday party! He and all his friends got to ride in a Limo. A high school teacher from El Camino lives with his family, and here is an acrostic she wrote about him:

Super
Amazing friend
Nice
Talented
Intelligent

Prayer Requests for Santi:
-That he will continue to be a great example and leader for his peers
-That being 9 years old will be a wonderful year for him

Special Guy

2010-09-07T10:30:00.003-05:00

-Daniel-

Meet Daniel: He speaks Spanish, English, and French, and has traveled to several countries around the world with his family (he has one older sister). He loves to read and is very knowledgeable because of it. He likes horse back riding, and started doing this when he was 2 years old. He also loves sports.

Prayer Requests for Daniel:
-He was out of school for a week because he was sick, so we pray that he stays healthy and has no trouble keeping up/getting back on track
-That he will continue to learn and discover new things

Special Person =)

2010-08-30T15:46:00.003-05:00

*Ana Maria*

Ana Maria is 7 years old. She loves to learn about animals and people, and when she grows up, she wants to be a pediatrician. She has an older brother named Nick and her favorite memory is when she went to Disney World. Her favorite book is called Pinkalicious. She is very creative and decorated her poster beautifully!

Prayer Requests for Ana Maria:
-She fell and broke her nose last week, so we ask that you pray for quick healing, and that she can catch up easily from her 4 missed days of school!

Our Special Person of the Week!

2010-08-24T18:04:00.002-05:00

-Juan Pablo-

Juan Pablo is 8 years old. He has 1 older brother and a pet fish named Santi. He loves his family, and his best memory is his family vacation to Girardot. He likes to play with transformers and he loves to play basketball.

Prayer Requests for Juan Pablo
-That he can make good decisions every day
-For the health of his family
-That he will work hard in school to learn a lot of new things

3rd Grade

2010-08-12T21:54:00.002-05:00

Here we are! We just signed and fingerprinted our Social Contract (or class promise). I didn't realize that the ink wasn't super washable and we would be the blue-thumb class for a day...lol

Year #2

2010-08-07T19:03:00.004-05:00

We prayed for our first day, for the new students, and for this new school year~

And here they are!! 21 beautiful faces just waiting to change my life some more

My roommate Melody (1st grade teacher) and I for the traditional "1st day of school" pic

So here we go =) Ready to join us?

Busy Girl

2010-07-22T21:59:00.003-05:00

I did it! I finished the school year, had a break for 2 weeks, taught for a week and a half in summer school, and came back to the States for vacation. I'm headed back down to Bogota next week for a second year! I wanted to share some information again about the school and my life down in South America so I have provided a few links below...

These two sites will both take you to my school's website. El Camino Academy

www.elcaminoacademy.com

www.eca.edu.co

I teach all in English, but the students are all bilingual (at least!) in Spanish and English. I teach the core subjects, Math, Science, Social Studies, English Language Arts (Spelling, Reading, Writing), and Bible. They also have a daily Spanish class, and special classes such as PE, Art, Computers (which I teach as well), and Music. Besides that, we have Chapel once a week, and a class called Mission Spot once a week as well. El Camino is a missions based school, with missionary teachers (like me) and an emphasis on exposing children to missions. Every grade level has a mission they work with all year. In third grade, we work with a children's mission called Hogar de Paz (Home of Peace). We visited them twice last year to build relationships, share time with them, and bring some support. They also made a trip to El Camino to spend some time with us during our celebration of el Dia del Amor y la Amistad (a holiday in September similar to Valentines Day but literally called "Day of Love and Friendship."

If you are interested in supporting me with prayer, THANK YOU! If you are interested in supporting me financially (as I do not get paid), you can send a check to RCE International (Resourcing Christian Education) at PO Box 4528, Wheaton, IL 60189. Please inform me of your decision by emailing me at marissalavigne@eca.edu.co and make sure you write the account number (#11180) on the check! Your donations are tax deductible and you will receive a receipt in the mail. I also have commitment cards (which make it a little bit easier) available on request.

Info on RCE: www.RCE-International.org

The most important thing to remember about supporting me with prayer or finances is that by doing this, you are actually supporting not only the students and families that I work with every day, but the children of this mission, Hogar de Paz. Did you know that you could have an influence on Colombian children from over 2,000 miles away? By blessing us down here with your love and support, you are opening yourself up to be blessed greatly by your Creator. We thank you for being partners with us and want you to know how much we appreciate you!

Many Blessings, and thank you for joining us on this journey for a second year! =)

In the News:

2010-04-18T09:07:00.001-05:00

This is interesting...

Where I'm from:

http://detnews.com/article/20100415/METRO/4150474/CNN-ranks-Detroit-among-

Where I am now:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2010-04-15-bogota-colombia_N.htm

Check it Out!

Getting There...

2010-04-17T13:41:00.003-05:00

Well, I've been trying to put some more pictures up for a while, but blogger shuts down my internet every time I try! So, I'll have to do without for now.

We have about 7 weeks of school left. I know it is going to go so fast and I'm excited to have a whole year under my belt, but when I look at my students and I think about them moving up to 4th grade, it makes me sad! Now, I've worked with groups of kids for as long as I can remember and they have moved up grades and I've started over with new groups, but never have I spent so much time and energy, 5 days a week, for an entire school year with one group of 22 students. I know them. I can see how they are growing, how they are changing, and how they are learning, and I know it's going to be hard to see them move on. It's hard for me to remember what I learned and what I did in 3rd grade, and I assume that it will be the same for them, but I hope that I have impacted them in some way that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives, whether they know it or not. I've tried to be a good influence and good example, and I know that they appreciate me because they tell me so. I really think that just like you never stop learning in your life, you never stop teaching either. Whether you are a "teacher" or not.

A couple weeks ago I started a Beth Moore Bible Study called Breaking Free. Between this, teaching Bible class for my 3rd graders, and going to chapel with them, I feel like I am still being fed spiritually while I am here. At church and with the young professionals at church, everything is in Spanish. While I understand it most of the time, I wonder if it is as deep for me as it could be in English. Well, just like everything else, it is little by little! Speaking of processes, the church I attend (the one I came down to originally) Congragacion Biblica Bautista, has recently changed buildings. It is a bit farther for me now, and takes about 45 minutes to an hour on a bus. The church is changing a lot of things and really beginning to grow and find new ways of doing things. I think it is hard for some of the people to go through this process, but overall, I think it will be good for the church because they are really striving to tell people the truth and help them grow and involve them in community and outreach.

It's been really rainy during the past week or two! You can pretty much expect it every day at some point. At least we always get a bit of sun too though! Well, I know I hadn't been able to write in a while, but I'm still here! Thanks for being here with me. Together, we are changing people for the better. God has a much better view than we do, and He didn't send me here for nothing! =)

Take care, I'm going to keep trying to post those pics!

*Many Blessings*

OK!

2010-03-11T09:35:00.002-06:00

The buses are back in business and it has been normal all week! Tomorrow is the end of third quarter and it is incredible to see how much my students have grown. Please continue to pray for Haiti and Chile though, because Chile just had another earthquake and the way the plates are arranged, it looks like Colombia is in the line of fire...

Prayer Request

2010-03-03T20:42:00.003-06:00

Please pray for Bogota's leaders right now...we are in the midst of a city-wide bus strike that has been going on all week. Schools city-wide have been cancelled much of the week (at ECA we lost Tuesday and are having an early dismissal tomorrow) and it is causing a lot of trouble. We have had to leave school almost immediately after classes to catch rides with parents because we usually take buses home every day! After school activities and English Institute classes have been cancelled as well. Please pray for negotiations to be made, and safety for everyone involved. We thank you for any prayers you send our way!

100 Days of School!

2010-02-14T09:16:00.004-06:00

Well, I've been a teacher for my first 100 days. 100 days makes a big difference! I have a little better idea of what I'm doing too (although I still have a long way to go!) The most amazing part is that I can actually see the changes that God is making in my students. They are growing, maturing, learning responsibility and respect, and so much more. My goal has always been to make sure they leave my class with more than just academic knowledge.

Since our 100th day was the week before Valentines Day, we combined them to make this bulletin board for the hallway. 100 Reasons Why We Love ECA! Each student got to make 4-5 hearts telling reasons why they love ECA. We got every response from "because it's in English" to "my friends" to the ever popular "recess." My favorites were the ones that said "for Miss Lavigne" =)

The sky was beautiful that morning...pictures don't do scenes like this justice.

My contribution to 100s Day was 100 balloons all over the room. I went to school early and got some help from the 1st grade teacher (also my roommate) and two early students to blow them all up!

All of elementary went outside first thing in the morning to do 100 exercises to start off the day.

Jumping Jacks! X

Swimming =)

Since I only had 20 students, I had each student make a face on 5 fingers so we could have 100 finger people!

A group from Canada came to do some activities with the students that day too. They were singing "This Little Light of Mine" here.

The girls always come up with little skits at recess time, so here is one they made for 100s day.

Thanks for being with me! Please keep us in your prayers. *Blessings*

Thank you Northridge Team!

2010-02-06T17:41:00.006-06:00

The team from Northridge Church in MI came down to work on my church here (we are moving to a new location and needed to get the old building ready to rent out) and I got to spend a weekend with them and get some "Colombia" pictures for you instead of just my classroom!

We went to a futbol game!! Millionarios vs. Nacional. The Millos won 2-1!

They did a lot of climbing and chanting..

Go Blue! Just like MI's football! (although it's a different sport)

Beautiful Colombia

City Center...all the important buildings

Monserrate- a church way up in the mountains that overlooks the city...big tourist place as well

God is changing this city...

~The End of the Semester~

2009-12-30T16:46:00.007-06:00

We did a lot in the last couple weeks of school! Here's a glimpse..

Once a week, we read to the kindergardeners. Our classrooms connect so it is good to get to know our neighbors!

We were studying Australia so the boys got their faces painted like Maori warriors..

Also, once a week when possible, the 6th graders come read to us!

It was our turn to lead chapel so we told the story of the Candy Cane and kicked off the Holiday Season.

This was after the chapel... I'm on the right, in the middle of all the girlies.

When Colombians do a manger scene, they practically do the whole town! This took up about the space of 1 car in someone's garage..

The elementary put on a Christmas Musical... my girls were beautiful angels!

Some of my boys were Bucket Boys living on the streets.

All of elementary...my girls are on the left. All the pre-k and K were sheep!

The rest of my boys were Wise Men on the far right.

Except for these two who got to be Mary and Joseph.

The musical was about a Colombian family from a tribe coming to the big city of Bogota and while struggling to fit in, they discover a church where they learn about Jesus. These students learned a song in that native language. It is called Chiva'nare oiku'mu Jesus.

The Bucket Boys are the poor kids who play buckets like drums on the streets to earn money.

We studied the Rainforest all 2nd quarter...

So we finally got to show the rest of the school what we learned!

We did a total of 4 presentations. We had Kindergarden, 1st grade, 2nd grade, and 4th grade come into the rainforest and they got to hear some reports about some of the animals, smell the rain, feel the heat, taste the fruit, hear the sounds, and see a slideshow of pictures taken from the Amazon here in Colombia. At the end, they got to look around the room and see the book/magazine display and posters, and try to find as many animals as they could!

Field Day! Getting ready..

Getting into teams.. Teams consisted of 5 students, one from every grade from Pre-k to 4th.

Mrs. Pinzon and I lead a game called "Veneno" or "Poison."

Christmas celebration, and sharing of "Secret Angel" gifts

The students studied these verses, one a week, and then at the end, they were able to say the whole thing from start to finish completely memorized!

We had a great semester! Thanks for praying for us =) We hope our next semester is even better...

We have a lot to look forward to!

If you are interested in supporting me in Bogota, Colombia, you can send a check made out to RCE International (Resourcing Christian Education) at PO Box 4528, Wheaton, IL 60189. On the memo line, write Account # 11916.

You can contact me through this blog, or email me at lavigne.marissa@gmail.com.

*Blessings*

2009-12-26T13:54:00.001-06:00

**Merry Christmas** from our family to yours =)

I just got an email from one of my 3rd graders...

2009-12-16T14:28:00.002-06:00

The subject line reads:

thanks for not givin as homwork
Inbox X

This is the message:

I think that you are a very good ticher and god bless you.

Hahaha! That's precious!

Oh Colombia...

2009-12-01T16:58:00.003-06:00

Colombia makes me laugh! For example, here in the store window in the mall, you will see banners for the Pittsburgh Steelers behind the mannequins...first of all, they don't really play North American football down here. Second of all, I don't know what the Steelers have to do with the clothes they are selling or the other Christmas decorations in the window on the other side...

Here in my apartment building, I found this that someone put on their door. Ok, it doesn't snow here, so why is there a snowman with a sign that says, "Let it Snow?" Plus, it's in English!

And the decorations at the mall are the best..hahahhaha! Here is a sheep, a drum, palm trees, and some grassy decorations. Besides these, there were gingerbread men, reindeer, snowflakes, nutcracker characters, drummer boys, and some dancing girl in a bonnet. A very eclectic display if you ask me! I never realized how much influence the US has on other countries...I think its mostly because of the movies.

2nd quarter!

2009-11-10T17:59:00.005-06:00

Just wanted to share some pictures and prayer requests! (Especially because your prayers are working! My students are working harder and behaving better!) We just sent progress reports today for 2nd quarter. This is almost our last full week of school until next semester because we celebrate Colombian AND United States holidays. (It sounds nice but the only problem with that is we have to make up the school days...like the Saturday half day we had last week!)

Ok, these pictures start more recent and go backwards in time...

Christian Character Day! Here we have a Mary Magdalene, 3 Pharaoh's Daughters, and a Queen Esther.

Isn't she a doll?

Boysssss =)

I think this was from the Teacher's Retreat in Villeta. Rose and meeeee

We were studying Rome, so we got to make Roman Pillars out of clay!

Another group drew a map of the Mediterranean Sea area.

Then the groups switched.. More pillars!

Walking through the mall with a pumpkin because the grocery store is inside the mall...it was so heavy!

Hard at work on position posters

Save the trees because the endangered Spotted Owls live there? Or cut down the trees to help cure cancer??

It was completely silent during reading time. I had to document it so I knew it was real!

Below is a video of 4 of my girls...they always come to me with silly little things they put together during recess time. It always makes me laugh, so I finally got one on camera!!

"Miss Lavigne, look!"

Thank you, thank you, and thank you again for your prayers. I've been struggling financially, but already people are stepping forward to be a part of this great experience. Stay with us on this, God is going to bless you! Also, God has provided me with a chance to get paid for teaching English. I teach for 2 hours after school, twice a week. It is fun and challenging because teaching adults is completely different than teaching kids!

Prayer Requests:

-For Jackie and Kyle B. as they return to the States early because of health reasons and are no longer able to stay at ECA

-For my Spanish to improve so that I can more easily communicate with the people God is placing in my path

-For my 3rd graders to continue to grow and learn and that I can be a good example for them

Rain Day!

2009-10-15T11:20:00.004-05:00

It took us an hour to get to school today because the streets were flooded! When the teacher van got to school, it was already the time when school was supposed to start but nobody was here! The police were turning all the cars around on the road and only letting buses through. Eventually by around 9:00, I had 14 of my 22 students, but that was the biggest elementary class that showed up. We combined with the 9 4th graders for 2 hours, and everyone was sent home at 11. More rain is expected, so we will see what will happen for conferences tomorrow!

Here are some pictures from our day...

Those of us lucky enough to ride in the teacher van didn't have to get out and walk in the rain after the taxis and cars were turned around

This is out the front window of the van...deep water!

Ok, so yesterday, I was telling everybody about this dream I had where there was a huge rain storm and nobody was allowed to leave the school...well it kind of came true!! All the kids were "blaming" me all day! A couple of them wrote this on the middle/high school message board upstairs! They said I'm not allowed to have any more dreams =)

This is all of the elementary school that showed up (about 1/2 of every class) so we had them all in the same room for chapel

3rd and 4th grade playing Heads Up 7 Up

Mad Libs! They always want to use my name in the silly stories...but they are learning parts of speech without even realizing it!! =)

Busy Busy Busy

2009-10-14T20:16:00.002-05:00

We finished our whole first quarter! The first week of October was a week vacation for the kids, but we had professional development Monday-Wednesday. I made my first report cards with a bazillion subjects and skill sets I had to grade, not to mention comments too, had CEU meetings every day, and had to begin writing up the entire 3rd grade curriculum online as an update for the school. I didn't finish it, but I have until February when the school gets checked for that sort of thing. I also went to school 2 more times during the weekend staying until 6 one night and 7 another!

Now we have parent teacher conferences this Friday and Saturday, and then the weekend after that is the Teacher Retreat that got postponed when everyone was sick back in August. I like that it is later though because now I know everyone a lot better and I think it will be more fun. I have a few more pics of my students and other things going on here, so I'll post them as soon as I get a chance to breathe!

It is pouring rain right now and has been coming down since at least 3:00 today. (It is 8:45 now). We are into rainy season and the mosquitos are out! I have a ton of bites! The rainy season doesn't last too long though and I've been told that December has the most beautiful bright blue skies, puffy white clouds, and perfect weather.

Don't worry, I've been having some fun outside of school lately too! A bunch of us teachers went bowling in Chia recently, my roommates and I went to the touristy down-town area for an afternoon, and this weekend we are planning to have some fun carving the giant pumpkins down here and making every sort of edible thing we can think of with them (bread, soup, pie, etc).

Please pray for my 22 third graders

-for continued health (or healing in some cases)

-for learning obedience and self discipline

-for practicing acceptance and friendship

Thank you so much for continuing to join me in this! You are very important to the successes that God is allowing us here at ECA--

Back to Chinauta

2009-09-23T19:54:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday, I got the privilege of going to Chinauta with my church in Castellana...the same place that I went in June my first time in Colombia. There was a day-long camp going on for students from the public schools who were invited to hear about Jesus. It was the third of three weekend camps, and the high schoolers watched a drama, a dance, a video, and a talk that required participation...all things to draw them in and relate to their world. Then they had small groups and lunch, and for the afternoon there was pool and game time. Since I was not really staff and just there to observe, I decided to become the photographer. It was great! It was incredible to be back in the same spot that I was in when I got that feeling in my heart to come back to Colombia. It's not something that I can describe.

This took place on Sept. 19 which is the Colombian version of Valentines Day. It is called El Dia del Amor y Amistad. (The Day of Love and Friendship). Colombians love holidays and celebrations so the whole month of September is dedicated to this.

As for my class, we have 2 more days this week, 5 next week, and then a week off of school. The first quarter of my first year will be over!

I still can't believe I'm here. =)

P.S. Colombians don't know what lemons are.

Uh Oh

2009-09-10T14:10:00.003-05:00

Prayer Request:

El Camino was closed today and tomorrow (Th-Fri.) because we had so many teachers and students out sick. (For example, there were only 4 out of 22 first graders present!) The person who made that decision has never closed the school for health reasons in all of her 18 years so I figure it's a pretty big deal =)

Also, our teacher retreat that was supposed to be this weekend was rescheduled for October. Please pray for the health of our students, and for us teachers and staff as well, so that Monday morning everyone will be at school and ready to go!

-Thank you-

What is Passion

2009-08-31T23:08:00.003-05:00

My friend Jonathan Saliba made this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaOrROd9cuY

It really gives a great picture of Colombia and it has a lot of meaning for me because there are many people in it that I know and love. I've been to these places and walked these streets; both the beautiful areas and the difficult to look at. Pray for these kids. Those newly born again, and those still searching for the truth. The distance doesn't matter; prayers know no bounds. Keep watching God work because you are making a bigger difference than you think.

Half Way Through Our Third Week!!

2009-08-26T18:30:00.008-05:00

Ok, so the grading papers part of teaching is not the best, but check these out!

The students are learning their Bible verses in sign language every week...

"he took up our infirmities.."

I came out of my classroom before school and found a circle of children from all different elementary school grades outside my door with our 3rd grade class hamster Tiny running around in the middle! (See the video at the bottom of this post!)

Our building is under construction and they let our class go on a little tour with hardhats and everything! We are building in phases as we raise the money. It was cool looking at the finished part of the building from the other side of the window.

We even got to go to the second floor!

Worship time for the Teachers before school--

Tiny the Hamster is a big hit around here.

Being a teacher just means that I am forever a student =)

2009-08-17T21:24:00.001-05:00

This is an electronic postcard that the parents of my 3rd grade students sent to me...

http://www.postalesevangelicas.com/pickup.php?id=090817191623IXn0XER2zxZt

Thank you for your prayers!!!

culture shock?

2009-08-08T22:01:00.010-05:00

My Colombian experiences are growing exponentially!

I can now get to and from school by myself without getting lost (bus), as well as to and from church (transmilenio)!
I got my cedula (Colombian ID) today
I went to a Quincenera party (the traditional 15th birthday celebration...although, think of it as how a typical wedding looks without the getting married part)

I will find out how I did on my Spanish placement test this week so that I can start taking classes. It is cool though, because I can already tell after these 10 days that I understand it better.

Here are a few pictures that I have had time to take in the midst of my school work!

Some common tropical fruits! My roommate Rose is eating a pattaya. You actually scoop it out with a spoon.

Granadilla is very common, and doctors actually tell parents to have it be the first fruit that they give to their babies. The kids like to call it "elephant snot." =)

Teachers praying for our new students before beginning the 1st day of school

My roommate Rose and I in our traditional 1st day of school pic

The beautiful view from my bedroom window

This is a wonderful country and I am glad to be here, but I need more support. Please continue your prayers as I know the Colombians are, and if you have the ability, help me financially. You are giving 22 students a teacher, and all of their parents and the school a blessing. Thank you~

Dios te bendiga

God bless you

The first 3 days

2009-07-31T22:41:00.002-05:00

Hola de Colombia!

First of all. let me just say, there is no easy way to put this experience into words. Every day I wake up and look out the window and think that I must be dreaming.

It was a long trip, but everything went smoothly. I arrived in Bogota at 5 AM on Wednesday and was picked up and driven directly to the school! I hadn't slept in 24 hours but had meetings all day from 7-3. The next day after I was able to sleep and shower, I got many comments on my ‘new face.’ Culturally in this area, people are very aware of looks…and they iron everything they wear (which is bad for me because all my clothes have been smashed in a suitcase for 4 days now!)

I'm living in a beautiful little apartment with 3 other teachers from El Camino Academy. Here, they have washing machines but no dryers, the water only gets hot in the shower (although if you touch any metal while in there you will probably get shocked because it is electric), and you generally avoid flushing toilet paper. There are no outlets in the bathroom, and the only one in my room works about 50% of the time, if I push it in at the right angle =). Also, I never realized what a big difference in sound that double paned windows can make!

The people here are more than friendly and we have been invited to dinner constantly. The food here is so good and they always have my two favorite drinks…fruit juice (actually made directly from the tropical fruits!) and of course, coffee! We went to the grocery store one evening and people try to sell you things as you walk down the aisles. Similar to a clothing store in the States.

The public transportation system is pretty crazy…on our first bus ride to school, the bus decided to cut off two lanes of traffic to make an exit and side swiped a car getting it stuck in the hub of the bus tire. Sometimes there aren’t even lanes painted on the roads so this is not uncommon. Also, you have about 2.3 seconds to get on the bus when it stops for you. It will start driving while you still have one foot out the door! You have to have your money ready in hand too, especially if there are other people trying to get on.

I’ve been in the school everyday from about 8-4. I have met a few of my students already too! Oh, I may have forgotten to mention that I was switched to 3^rd grade...I’m so glad though because I think that it was supposed to be my class from the very beginning. School starts so soon! I have a teacher aid that is helping me set up the classroom, and will be in the room with me full time to help out anywhere I need her. She has been a tremendous help already!

PS. All of my websites come up in Spanish because of the network I’m on…it’s awesome!

Thank you for your prayers! They are very much appreciated and we are watching first hand how God is working here. We are looking forward to quite an exciting year!

T minus 12 days!

2009-07-16T14:28:00.002-05:00

My flight is set for Tuesday, July 28th! I am flying Continental from Detroit to Bogota with a layover in Houston. I won't be in Bogota until 5 AM on Wednesday, July 29th...

Please pray that there are no delays on my visa!

Colombia June 2009

2009-07-16T11:06:00.002-05:00

http://vimeo.com/5614023

A glimpse at what God did during our time in Colombia.