Lately...

After Spring Break we entered school with Spirit Week! It was so much fun!
Tuesday - Crazy Hair Day!
Wednesday - Twin Day!
Thursday - Crazy Hat Day!
Friday - Culture Day!
The kids dressed up each day and we all had a lot of fun. It was a great week to get energy and motivation for the last 5 weeks of school! This past week we had a full regular week. It was really fast, although at the same time took a LONG time. The kids are really trying our patience and it became a tiring week because of the discipline side of teaching. We did have an art show and writer's workshop on Thursday night. The art from 1st grade to 8th grade was displayed as well as writing from each class. The school has an art teacher so I don't have to teach it to my kids and it was amazing to see how well they do. It was a joy to see the kids there and all the hard work they have been doing.
There has also been the Flame Tree Festival this past weekend and so we spent Thursday and Saturday nights there, walking around and enjoying the arts and crafts, food and live music and dance. What an awesome way to see and experience the culture of Saipan. We love it here - absolutely love it! :) Today - 4 of my 1st grade boys came over and Jake and I took them to the beach. We had sooo much fun and just having time outside of school with them, really shows you who they are and how to love them better. Life is going good. We are about 20 school days away from break and then 30 days away from Australia. We are excited to be finished with our 1st year of teaching and can't believe how fast time has flown by. We think of you all often. Two of our good friends are both pregnant and having babies and we are overjoyed for them! Our parents and families are doing well and we miss you all. Love always, J & J



Jake, Desrei and Tony

All my girl's dressed up in their culture costumes!

The Canadian representatives!!!

Me with Tony and Kelly (Koreans)

My class on Crazy Hat Day!

Esther and Ashley on Twin Day!

Amanda and I on Twin Day!

Price and I on Crazy Hair Day!

Jake and I with our crazy hair!

Spring Break '09

Spring Break has come and gone and it was perfect.

Jake and I took time to not wake up to an alarm clock, have no schedule and truly relax. We spent a total of 1 day in our classrooms getting ready for this week. We spent the time at Managaha or PIC enjoying the sun and water, helped run the track meet (which will continue for the next month), swam at the Grotto and then celebrated Thai New Year, went to my 1st sunrise service on a tropical island, has Easter dinner with some good friends, painted Easter eggs for the 1st time I can remember, went Easter Egg hunting with three of my students, ate out for lunch with some new amazing friends, got manicured and pedicured with two of the most amazing and Godly women I know (Terry and Sandy - you are amazing friends), and I really enjoyed spending time with Jake - what an awesome man! :)

We are back at school this week for Spirit Week, with Crazy Hair to start off today! Tomorrow brings Twin Day (see future photos), Crazy Hat Day and then Culture Day. It should be an awesome week. It was great to start back at school. I know that we both enjoyed being back into routine and the good ol' swing of things! :)

Life is great!

I love that we have salvation and hope for our futures - thank God for sending His son and the reminder of forgiveness and grace. I made a commitment to God this Break to just let some things go and surrender them to God. You can only try so much and when there is no return you just move on and pray God will continue to shine through your love and actions. I have an Godly husband who promises to pray and keep me accountable and I really could not ask for more. Thank you God for your grace, amazing people in my life and most of all your Love!

Love,
Jackie

Emma, Yoo Jin and Henry getting ready to find Easter eggs!
Easter Sunrise Service
The Sunrise
Painting Easter Eggs at Amanda's!
Jake and Rovin

Our crazy hair for today!

Dedication...

An amazing professor and good friend of ours from college passed away early this week and it's been really hard for me and us. She was an inspiration to both Jake and I. She was wise, loving, caring, witty, beautiful, true, and I could go on forever. She had been battling cancer for two years and I know being with Jesus and in no more pain or sickness is so much better for her, but I am truly missing her. I cannot wait to see her again someday and thank her for how much she helped me love teaching. For how when I am teaching and I see something right or hear something right, I think of Cella and all her stories and encouragements. For how I sat through all her classes, and other Ed. ones and kept telling myself "teach like Cella".
Her love for students and people and life was so incredible. I've never met or known anyone like I have known her. You will be in my heart forever Cella and I know that as long as I teach I will remember you. Thank you for all you have given and blessed me with God, through Cella Bosma!

Spring Break!

YAH!!!! Today was the last day of school before our Spring Break...and thank goodness!

I know that I have been looking foward to this break for quite some time, and I think Jake has been too! We have been busy with SAT testing in our classrooms, Jake now coaching the Track adn Field team and Marriage Encounter.

Last weekend we helped out with the Marriage Encounter weekend, serving meals to the couples. It was quite an experience. I remember going through it and being amazing at all the people who were involved in the mission. Now being involved and working with M.E I really can be love to other couples and it was so great to do that. What's also great about it is that it's a marraige mission and so you do everything with your spouse, which means that Jake and I get to spend alot of time together - which is also awesome! :) We love Marriage Encounters. It is such a ministry. I would truly recommend it to anyone - whether you have a great marriage (or so you think) or you just married. It will change your marriage, give you new tools and just touch you...and if it anything else, you will just be able to see how many people in your area really want marraiges and God's sacrament to work!

We also had our LAST mathcourt competition last weekend - which was so great. It was fun to watch our students do math so well. Something neither Jake or I was used to back in the States - so it's a great competition to see here! Very glad it's over though! There was also a Red-Cross Walkathon last weekend, which my good friend Tami and I did together. We walked hard and got a t-shirt outta the deal. It was a great time. She is an amazing woman of God and I love spending time with her! She's the 5th grade teacher at SCS.

That's Tami with the hat. The other woman is Amanda who also in amazing friend and woman. Love them both! :)

At school we are having a Penny Drive for new lockers...and my class came in 1st place last week. They were so happy and excited! I was so proud of them, because they had been working hard to bring in money. We had a trophy to decorate for the week and then providing we were the lead again this week we would keep the trophy. They found out in Chapel this morning that 5th grade took the lead. They were very upset when they had to hand over the trophy.

Here's Henry and Jon Paul with the trophy!

Have I mentioned just how much I love teaching 1st grade. The joys I get out of it are tremendous. Like how much the kids who didn't want to or couldn't read at the beginning are now my top readers. And how much love they ALWAYS have for you - even when you are outside punishing them. They are adorable and fun and energitic (sometimes too much) and all-around amazing! I am so glad that we are here for next year doing the same grade! I know Jake is happy to stay. He really enjoys teaching middle school. Teaching both math and science definietly keep him busy but he loves it. Saipan is truly amazing and we are continually being blessed with new friends to get to know and be with, our ME family who know more about us than most people, and our church family. Thank you God for our blessings!

Love

Jackie and Jake