Oddly October

Can you all believe October is over already!?!?! There's lots to cover so let's hop to it! The first Friday of the month of October was STUNNING. First, in the morning we had two students' (whose families had been reassigned to other countries) last days. Before the tears came we had to live it up and take a goofy picture one last time. :)



It was a mix of emotions, but we supported each other through it. That night we got to watch a soccer match! Our housemates upstairs decided to have a Mexican Fiesta-themed party. The fajitas, chips, and CHEEESSSEEE were all fabulous! MMMMMM! For the evening we borrowed a TV so that we could watch the Finals of the Under 20 World Cup. After an INTENSE 90 minutes of play, the two teams battled it out in overtime, only to continue into penalty kicks to decide the win. We were ALL on our toes in the sitting room, sweating for the team. When the final kick was made, the inside AND outside of our house EXPLODED in cheers/screams/car horns. This was the VERY first time in history that an African team had won this tournament, and it got to be us! GO GHHAANNNNAAAAAAAA!!!!!!



Elyse and I went walking on the street to pick up a few things after our guests had all left and we were greeted with constant yelling and honking coming from every corner of our neighborhood. There was even a point when a car was stopped in the street so some boys could reenact the winning penalty in front of the headlights. What FANTASTIC national spirit. I love it!

Running on my excitement high I escaped to my room to dive into the packages I received during the school day. BELATED BIRTHDAY GIFTS!!! One had my own little party in a bag. My roommates had all gone to sleep, so I had my little party on my own-and might have passed out from all the sugar...



The next had one of the most hilarious things I've ever received in a package (except for Mr. Mines's garbage my first year). It was a special kind of wig, and on Monday, my students couldn't keep themselves from trying it on. :)









HILARIOUS. Thank you both for those packages! What FABULOUS friends you are!!!

Speaking of fabulous friends, what a friend my mom was the other day when she called to tell me it was Zac's birthday on the 21st. SO glad I didn't forget. Immediately, Amanda helped me to use the party-in-a-bag supplies to help him celebrate. Hooray for Troy Bolton! hehe



We had storybook character day on Friday the 30th. Character Day/Halloween is always one of my favorite days of the year. Everyone's creativity is shown and most people are genuinely happier. I'm always excited when things are present that make people happier. Here are some wonderful 6th graders :)



Half of 7th Grade



8th Grade-Not only did he DRESS but he could MOONWALK just "Like Mike". Amazing!



TEACHERS!!! So we didn't dance, but we sure looked good!




The next night was Halloween. We had all grown up trick or treating and were quite sad remembering that it would be another year, without door to door candy. We were, however, able to dream up a pumpkin carving substitute! Watermelons!!! The best part??? You can eat all that "gooky" stuff inside RIGHT when you yank it up! Amanda and I worked together to create this masterpiece.



After a soccer ball, we wrote the word BLACK and drew a STAR, to show our passion for our Ghanaian football team the BlackStars. Plus, our guard was the one who was going to judge the pumpkins and we knew his greatest passion besides Jesus was soccer. Isn't everyone's???





We didn't stop at carving. We pulled our precious candles and stuck them inside, lit 'em up, and turned off the lights. We were hushed by the comfort we felt immediately. Somehow, friends blessed us with a package of pumpkin seeds that we baked and chewed on while basking in the feeling of home.



Speaking of home, two of my favorite people in the whole world had birthdays since my last post, my sister and my dad!!! So if you see them, please wish them a HAPPY belated birthday. I love you two so so so so so so so so much. I hate that I couldn't be there to celebrate with you.

Thanks for reading! If you'd like to check out a video made by a fabulous friend and co-teacher of mine, please copy and paste this link into your browser and check it out! It is a great reminder that God is able to do all things, He loves ALL people, and is constantly changing lives all around the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWa-vGUBmM4

Love love!!!!!