Rachelle D. Alspaugh's Blog, page 2

Our newest version of the empty nest

In my last post, I mentioned the joy of being able to enjoy an occasional lunch with my son this summer. I realized it's about time I update the blog on this new chapter of his life. I think he appreciates me letting him live life quietly and out of any spotlight, but a little context on where he's settled may be helpful for my future posts. 

David graduated from Dallas Baptist University last May (2024) with a degree in Business Finance. He and his buddy had planned to look for jobs in the DFW area and get an apartment together right out of college, but God had other plans for them when neither one landed a job in time. So David made the hard decision to move to Indiana with us temporarily while he continued to look for a job in his field in the DFW area--at least before the grace period ended so he could settle somewhere before he had to start paying on his student loans. 

But he soon found out that a degree without experience is a tough spot to be in. He can't get hired for the jobs he's qualified for without the experience behind him, and he can't get hired for the entry level positions because his degree over-qualifies him. After hundreds of applications and several solid interviews that left him picked over in the end, he began to feel pretty defeated and discouraged. Thankfully he had a place to live and could work with his dad and uncle to make at least enough money to cover his student loans. A bit humbling, though, when those temporary months nearly turned into a year of life. He never stopped seeking God's guidance, and the wait really opened his heart to go wherever God decided to open a door. 

David's been on many mission trips with his youth group at Lakepointe Church in Texas, so when I looked into our church trip to the Dominican, he really wanted to go. I think he would have loved going and serving with me, but he just couldn't make the commitment with his life and future so up in the air. So in the end, Mike ended up going while David stayed behind to work with his uncle Matt, and Mark (Matt's father-in-law), and stay home with the cats. 

So while we were in the Dominican, David worked all week and went out to eat with Mark and his buddies after work one of the evenings. He opened up a little bit about his current situation and job search, and then they got to talking trucks for the rest of the evening. It "just so happened" that Mark's buddy owns a company that makes saws to cut steel, and he was looking to hire a new service tech guy. So he set up an interview for David two days later. 

Well, the interview didn't quite go as planned, and he said he totally messed up on the most simple of Math questions--stuff he said he should have been able to answer quickly and easily. So when we came home that weekend from the Dominican and he told us all about his week, he said, "Well, God's gonna really have to do His thing if this is where He wants me."

Monday morning they offered him the job! It pays him nicely, has good benefits, and he travels all over the United States throughout the week, guaranteed to be home every weekend. The traveling could be a drawback at any other time in his life, but currently, it's a great fit. He said that he would not have taken it if he couldn't be guaranteed to be home on the weekends because he wouldn't be able to get connected with church on a consistent basis. He can also request to stay local on certain weeks when he needs to take care of an appointment or anything like that. It comes with a lot of really great perks, like getting to eat out at his favorite restaurants when traveling, staying at nice hotels and earning points that he can use for personal use, and he even got his own truck for the business (a truck that he said he wanted to buy with his own money if he had landed a job in the finance field). It gives him his independence, and there's no need to rent an apartment when he's only home on the weekends. And it gives Mike and me a little bit more of that empty nest. It means my little house is going to stay full for longer than expected, but it's a really sweet spot to be in with my son. He's a nice companion to have around and a big help to Mike with any projects around the house, out on the trails, or with their variety of vehicles in the driveway. 

So he started working in late March and has now been there for about two months. He's getting settled into  a good routine, has been the tag-along guy in training up till now, and he looks forward to getting to go out on jobs on his own soon. That way he'll be free to do any kind of sight-seeing he wants to or stop to see any family and friends in nearby areas. They have customers in the Dallas area, so he's hoping he gets to take those jobs once he's fully trained. 

I'm so proud of that kid and the way that he leaned in to God's direction for his life. It's not the job he went to college for, but he knew without a doubt that it was God who dropped it in his life for this season of his life. We talked about how we can't put God in a box because we have no idea what His plans could be for us. 

First Days of Summer 2025

Teachers NEED summer. I'm so thankful for how God modeled and ordained rest. Since the first official day of summer was just a few days ago, I thought I'd take a few minutes to talk about my summer break so far. 

My first week of "summer break" I spent in Puerto Rico with five students and one amazing coworker. Though not restful and technically still working, it counted! However, it wasn't with family, and making memories apart from your family can be a bit awkward when you come home. 

Less than 48 hours after coming home, I walked out onto my front porch in my socks to make a phonemail and somehow got bit by little ants (or possibly chiggers?), leading to a swollen toe two days later and having to start antibiotics two days after that. I already know I'm allergic to chiggers, so if they weren't chiggers, I guess I'm allergic to whatever they were, too. 

My second week, I pretty much slept, nursed my swollen toe, and soaked up the much needed solitude, other than a quick meet-up for coffee with lady friends from my discipleship group. 

My third week, I attended trainings, took care of annual check-ups, enjoyed a game night with our community group, and had a little reunion with our Dominican team while having a baby shower for a missionary couple we met there from our church. 

This week, I had a FREE calendar without a single appointment scheduled.  Summer has finally arrived for me. I can breathe, think, reflect, and look ahead. I'm not in a rush. I'm not hurrying to finish something. I'm not pulled in a million directions at once. I have margin in my life again where I can say yes to spontaneous coffee with a friend, a mid-afternoon meet up with my discipleship group, hang out with friends to play card games, or be available to pick up a friend who needed to leave her car at the mechanic. I can run to town with my son and share lunch together. I can go for a long walk (until my heel spur says that's enough), try new and longer workouts in the mornings, make healthy breakfasts and lunches, dig into a Bible study I've had tucked away on the shelf, read a lot of books, write on my blog, and hang out on my porch with the hummingbirds--and my cat. I can play around with new digital tools I acquired in my trainings without the overwhelm adding one more thing to my plate. 

Teaching is a hard job. I can't see myself doing anything else, and I chose to challenge myself with a new grade level last year that stretched me in so many ways. That choice gave me something to work on and many new growth areas to focus on, but it's a choice I'm so glad I made. But it's also a choice that left me exhausted and stretched thin, making summer a necessity. Sometimes you get so busy that you don't realize how much you truly need rest. 

When I met up with a friend for coffee last week, I told her how it felt to be able to breathe and think again. I let her know that it was my commitment to stay "unbooked" during summer months, and I was reminded of God teaching me that lesson many years ago as a teacher. Sometimes it's hard to relax and not be productive every minute--but it's okay to just sit outside in the sunshine and listen to the birds and do nothing sometimes. 

Avocado toast for lunch
A morning at the farmer's market with David
Fresh, yummy salads for lunch
Almost getting to go up in a hot air balloon
Random coffee dates with friends
Tostadas with black beans and fresh veggies
Lots of hummingbirds visiting
An evening of Euchre with church friends (What a genius to create these dice!)

Well, looks like I'm out of fresh veggies, so I'm off to get groceries and enjoy another summer day. 

Puerto Rico 2025- Day 5

 

4:30 a.m. came way too quickly, but somehow we all made it out of bed in time to quickly change, brush our teeth, and pack the rest of our stuff in time to be in the lobby for our 4:30 pick up time. I even had time to make a cup of coffee to help me wake up, but I didn't have enough time to drink it. 
We headed straight for the airport, which was about 20 minutes away. We made it through security pretty quickly, and then we stopped at two stores to buy the souvenirs we didn't have much of a chance to buy during our stay. (We'll definitely make sure that more time to shop gets put into the schedule for next year.) 
After we shopped, we went to our gate to leave our luggage and go in shifts to find breakfast. I ended up staying with the luggage while all the kids went with Greicy to find something to eat. As they were looking for a place, a big keychain rack full of keychains fell and knocked them all off. Our kids jumped in to help the poor guy pick them all up. When they finished, he offered them each a keychain for free. Greicy said they all just helped out of the kindness of their hearts, but he insisted. I was happy to hear about their experience of helping someone and then also having something tangible to remember it. 
They finally came back with food, and then I walked to a coffee shop to get a good cup of coffee and a ham and cheese croissant breakfast sandwich. My last taste of Puerto Rico. 

We soon boarded the plane, got seats all together, and I gladly welcomed the window seat where I could just stare out the window and "disconnect" for awhile. I'm always mesmerized by looking down from high places and seeing how small life really is. 






I especially love flying over the ocean and seeing the islands below us. It's so neat to see how the water color looks so different around them. 










I also love watching the flight tracker to know exactly where we are. 

Our first flight went quite smoothly, and they made the announcement that we were arriving in Orlando and would be landing soon, ahead of schedule. I almost texted the parents to say we were about to land in Orlando, but then we seemed to go higher, not lower. We circled around Orlando for quite some time before the pilot said that Mother Nature had other plans for us and we couldn't land during the thunderstorm. So we took a detour and flew south to West Palm Beach to land, refuel, and wait out the storm in Orlando. We got to West Palm Beach within about 20 minutes and sat there for probably another 20-30 minutes more to wait our turn on the runway. The weather in Orlando cleared, so we finally took off and landed in the right place about two hours off schedule. Thankfully we had a long layover, anyway, so it didn't affect our connecting flight.  We got to Atlanta and had plenty of time to eat a good lunch, shop a little more, and board our plane. (The earlier storms did affect the entire schedule for the day, so that plane was slightly delayed for take-off.)  So now I guess I can say that I've also been to West Palm Beach!



We all finally boarded the plane, just in time for another storm to pass through, so we couldn't take off for about an hour until it stopped lightning. Once we eventually got in the air, we pulled out the cards to entertain us. 

This flight I sat with two of the kids for one last Phase 10 tournament. I love how a deck of cards can be so much fun and make the time pass so much more quickly. We played a whole game of Phase 10, then a game of Skipbo, and still had a little bit of time left to just talk. 


The other girls fell asleep and slept for most of the flight. 

The pilot came on saying that we'd be landing in about 15 minutes, and then they all woke up and acted super giddy. Everyone was more than ready to see their families, and their families were anxiously awaiting them at the airport after all the delays from the day. 
When we got off the plane and met up with their families, they all gave big hugs to both me and Greicy, as well, thanking us for all we did to take care of their children. 
Though only a five day trip, I watched each child grow and mature in different ways. I think the independence gave them a new confidence, they tried new things, they learned a new kind of flexibility, and they learned the importance of being a team. With all of the rushing, packing and repacking, and then waiting through unexpected delays, they never once complained. I couldn't have asked for a better group of troopers, just going with the flow and cooperating at every turn. It was a life-changing opportunity that will impact them forever. I'm so thankful I got to be part of the original 7. They will always have a very special place in my heart, and traveling with them gave me a better glimpse into their world outside the classroom, which can only help me better connect with future students. 
But I'm also super thankful to be home and settled for the summer. This girl is ready to put on the brakes and stay grounded for awhile. Boots and I have a few front porch dates on our agenda. 

Puerto Rico 2025--Day 1

After all the planning, dreaming, and preparing for this first ever Legado 6th grade graduating class trip, our day finally arrived! Up at 3:45 a.m., ready to go by 5 a.m. to head to the airport. We sent messages in our group chat to say that we were ready to go!
 
After a few tearful, anxious goodbyes to their families, we got our first of many group pictures before we made our way through security. 
The "original" 7 to pioneer this first trip
We thankfully found enough seats altogether, in the very back of the plane! All smiles to start out our journey. 



So thankful I brought a few card games to pass the time! They sure did come in handy on those longer traveling days. 
First stop: Orlando, after a two hour flight. Time to each lunch, use the restroom, and then play some more card games at our gate while we waited out our layover.




Then we boarded our second plane to get us to our final destination: San Juan, Puerto Rico.We got lucky again to find seats altogether. 







Arriving in San Juan

We made it! "We're in Puerto Rico!", the kids often exclaimed to each other the first day or two. 
Our guide, Adryanna, from XPeritas picked us up in a shuttle type bus, took us to our hotel to drop off our bags, and then took us across the street to our first Puerto Rican dinner.



Finally got to try Mufongo, a traditional Puerto Rican food that we had heard about. Basically, fried plantains served like rice. It was a bit dry to me, but I'm glad I tried it. I also ordered fried chicken and sweeter fried plantains called Maduros. Those were my favorite part of the meal, reminding me of Colombia. 

Greicy tried two other typical Puerto Rican sides, but I don't remember their names. 

The kids sure did love their desserts to end the meal!



Group hug for Adryanna for giving us a great start!

Back to the hotel to swim and settle in for the night before having to dry our swim clothes and be packed and ready to go by 8 am before heading to a different hotel and location the second day. I think by the time they swam, we debriefed, journaled about our day, got our clothes dried, and watched a little TV, they were all out just before midnight. 

Reflections from Year 22

Well, I officially have wrapped up my 22nd year of teaching. What a wild ride! This year taught me a lot, challenged me, stretched me, surprised me, humbled me, and excited me in ways that no other school year has done. I call it a wild ride because by the end of the year, I got very used to responding to questions with the same words, "I have no idea. I'm just along for the ride." When every step you take is a new one where you have no prior experience to attach it to, it's like walking with a blindfold and trusting that the steps you're taking will get you to the right destination. 

Now that I have a full year of teaching 6th grade at my particular school in my specific city in the state of Indiana, I can reflect on what challenged me, what I learned, what went well versus what I can do better, and what I am looking forward to in the year ahead. 

What challenged me?

After teaching the majority of my career in (obnoxious) high-stakes-testing-Texas and then jumping into Indiana Public Schools, I definitely went through quite a bit of culture shock. Within the first few weeks, I felt like I'd stepped back in time at least a decade. I half way expected that when jumping into a Dual Language program just starting their 7th year after leaving a district in their 23rd year of the program. I didn't expect, though, to hear the same conversations I heard years ago about tiptoeing around the subject of dyslexia when Texas has already made so much advancement over the last decade in screening, testing for, diagnosing, and educating children with dyslexia. After seeing the incredible difference that early intervention can make in a child's educational outlook, I was so sad to see so many students here in Indiana who clearly could have and should have made much bigger strides before getting all the way to sixth grade still unable to read or write much. 

The second major culture shock was coming from a school that almost mandated daily small group intervention both in Reading and in Math during the school day, after-school tutoring twice a week, and then Saturday school before state testing and then coming to a school busy with countless extracurricular activities, clubs, and sports but not a single day for after school tutoring. I got so used to being able to reteach to my struggling students in tutoring without the rest of the class there, and I really struggled to find ways to help those students here in the same way. We may have griped and complained in Texas about how tutoring was a waste of time, but I sure do see the value in it now. 

My third area of culture shock came during the "testing season". I'm used to prepping kids for a test and then keeping an entire building quiet for the majority of the day on test day as students tested for anywhere between 90 minutes and six hours. We usually wanted to strangle the kids who only took 90 minutes, while we praised the kids that took several hours because it showed their perseverance in difficulty and their willingness to take their time and work hard. Then I came here and found out that we only let kids test for about an hour a day, 90 minutes max, and we break the test into two days or three days. I am from the mentality that it's not easy to get into test mode, so once you're in it, stay in it till you're done! Here the mentality is that kids can do better if they work for shorter amounts of time and come back to it. So rather than lose a day to test in a certain subject, you basically lose a week of routine instruction. Rather than a day for Reading, a day for Math, and a day for Science or History testing, it's a week for Reading, another week for Math, and another day or two for Science and/or History. Needless to say, I definitely struggled with the lower expectation of what students are capable of doing. I will need to go into the coming year with a different mindset so I'm not so aggravated with the system this time. It's just taking me awhile to wrap my mind around the mindset here. 

Besides the culture shock, figuring out how to organize while teaching three classes was probably my biggest challenge all year. I can't even begin to tell you how many organizational strategies and bright ideas I started and didn't follow through with. Trial and error. All year. LOL. 

What I learned

Once I got through the culture shock, I learned (and am still learning) a lot. I taught Reading and Writing to the entire sixth grade, so I only got to work in Spanish for two hours a day. I struggled to bond with my Legado kids because this particular class (the guinea pigs in the program) gravitated more to English, and I didn't get to be the teacher who worked with them during their 2 hours of English time. I did bring in 5 newcomer students with very little English (the first new students this class has ever had, basically since 2nd or 3rd grade), and I definitely bonded better with them. 

I never taught Reading to sixth grade before, so I did quite a bit of outside reading to read their stories ahead of time and get a feel for the skills I needed to teach. I really enjoyed the stories, actually, much more than I enjoyed the stories I read with second graders. I liked the deeper meaning and connections the kids could make with these stories. I went through a lot of trial and error, though, trying to find the best way to engage and motivate kids at this age (and keep myself organized with three different classes). I still have a lot I can improve on in these areas. I personally did not enjoy teaching the same reading lesson three times a day. I really missed teaching Math, so I'm excited that next year we've worked out a completely different plan where we get to teach more than one subject and I will only trade classes with one other teacher, who is also a Dual Language teacher. 

Jumping from 2nd grade to 6th grade held a lot of surprises. I expected the sass and the backtalk, which for sure gave me a headache many days, but I had some pretty thick skin and didn't let it get to me personally (most of the time). Somehow I knew that my strictness and structure (and consistency) gave them a security in my classroom, whether they liked it or not. What I didn't expect from sixth grade was the absence of fine motor skills and the inability of so many to write with pencil and paper. I didn't expect so many kids to not know how to use scissors and glue sticks or to have no pride in the presentation of their work. I also didn't expect to face so much apathy in the classroom by students who did absolutely nothing in an hour and still didn't put a thing on their paper even when you held them accountable by taking away other privileges. Oh, and don't get me started on their organizational skills (or lack thereof)! 

This was the group that "finished" the last 3 months of 1st grade online during COVID, had an experimental year of 2nd grade with masks, desk shields, half the students at home, no manipulatives or group work, and very fluid attendance (and highly stressed and overworked teachers). School resumed to the new normal of everything digital in their third grade year, but they'd already lost so many key foundational skills. Each year we'll have less of these students that were affected DURING COVID, but I have a feeling these gaps in fine motor skills and attention spans (and an overall apathy regarding attendance) will continue to show up in kids whose educational years began even after COVID. 

Two things I had to remind myself often. 1. Remember teaching "this group" as second graders, knowing what they missed out on in the year 2021-22. in contrast to a normal year. 2. Remember yourself as a sixth grader and how awkward everything felt all the time. 

What went well versus what I can do better

The highlight of my year was a parent-organized class picnic to end the year, a multicultural "picnic" in my classroom to celebrate all the different cultures represented in our class, as well as to remind students how much bilingualism opens their world. Not sure how much the kids really got that message, but I know the parents really seemed to appreciate the opportunity to mingle with and get a taste for the other cultures represented (Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Venezuela, and the United Stated). It was a parent led activity, but I think I might have to suggest for another parent to head it up next year. :) It could turn into a really neat tradition. 

I taught Writing in Spanish to my Legado kids for about 30 minutes a day. I absolutely loved those 30 minutes each day. Sixth graders can write with so much more depth and conviction than second graders, at least once you give them an organizational structure to follow. My two favorite memories from Writing class were when we published our class book about Friendship and when we wrote our New Year's Goals. Five of my students wrote that their goal was to grow closer to Christ and mapped out things they were going to do to help reach that goal. Those papers brought tears to my eyes and really inspired me to cheer them on.  I also finished the year with a reflection letter assignment where they told me how they grew as a reader, how I challenged them, how they want me to remember them, and then they also got to challenge me with ways I could improve. Definitely a humbling thing to ask, and I took their feedback to heart. I can work on patience and also having more fun and engaging activities (though I found out they all really did enjoy doing Reader's Theaters. :)) But as much as they fought me on my high expectations throughout the year, they sure did respond at the end by saying how much those high expectations helped them do more than they thought they could do. This Texas teacher would not back down, no matter how much they "hated" me for it. It was one of those, "You'll thank me later" kind of years. So when they did thank me at the end for pushing them to their limit, I knew I did something right. I will treasure that stack of letters for a very long time. 

One thing I wished I had done a better job with was NOT calling out behavior. Second graders want to please their teacher, so calling out a child for breaking a rule usually turned them around pretty quickly. They wanted you to be proud of them. I could point out kids who did the right thing, and then others would follow suit to get that same acknowledgement. But twelve year olds don't respond the same to being called out. If you call them out in front of their peers, often the bad behavior or attitude just escalates. And calling out the "good kid" often embarrasses the good kid to the point where they stop doing the right thing so they don't get ridiculed by the other kids. I can say all this in hindsight where I can see much more clearly, but when in the fog of culture shock and just overwhelmed by constantly feeling blindfolded, I didn't always respond the way I would have liked. 

Another highlight of my year was finally connecting with a girl who butt heads with me (and couldn't stand me) for the whole first half of the year. Then somehow she began to trust me and see that I really did care about her, and she began to choose success in the last two or three months of school. On the very last day, right when the bell rang to dismiss, she walked up to me with tears in her eyes and hugged me for quite a long time. I got to remind her that I loved her right before she walked off the playground for the last time. 

What I am looking forward to in the year ahead.

As much of a challenging, stretching, and humbling experience as I had in sixth grade, I never once regretted the decision. In fact, I found myself inspired by the challenge, always waking up and praying for God to guide my actions, my decisions, and to give me new ideas. He never failed, and I grew so much. I am really thankful for a summer ahead to disconnect from teaching and just relax. Once mid-July comes around, I'll be ready to join my team again and start prepping for another year with a new group of kids. Thankfully I already got to meet them, answer some of their questions, talk in Spanish to them, and read several of their letters to me. We're already ahead of where I started this current year. I'm also thankful for a Legado teammate who wants to pray for our students together--such a great reminder of the mission field in front of us (aka: the American Public School). 

(I copied this from her story because it spoke so deeply to me.)
The first 6th grade graduates from the Legado program 
So honored to be part of this small, but growing group of Dual Language teachers here in Columbus, IN. 


And that's a wrap. Ready for some time to disconnect, recharge, reflect, and relax before this room fills up again with a whole new group of students. 

6th grade Camp @ Bradford Woods

Less than 18 hours after getting home from Texas, I made an hour drive to Bradford Woods to meet up with my students for my first ever 6th grade Camp adventure. I took the morning off so I had a chance to sleep, unpack, do some laundry, and repack. I wasn't going to show up until the next morning, but when Mike and David had other commitments on Monday night, I decided to just go so I could get more of the full experience of it. The kids had arrived around noon, and I got there by 7:30 in the evening. 

Not gonna lie, the whole thought of camping with a bunch of sixth grade girls gave me quite a bit of anxiety and dread many times throughout the year. But my word for the year is "intrepidez", meaning fearlessness. God is showing me that sometimes I just need to face my fears head-on and have the courage to step into unknown territory and trust that He is with me. This has definitely been a year of many similarly stretching experiences that I find myself boldly walking right into. 

The following two days had their challenging moments, but I'm glad I went and experienced as much as I did. Basically all I ended up missing that first day were all the rules and meal procedures, zip-lining, and dinner. Oh, and getting accommodated in the cabins, meaning I didn't get a bed with an electrical outlet by it. Not a good thing at all, but even still, I survived. 

They really gave the kids some fun experiences that many of them enjoyed, while others obviously complained about. I mean, what can you expect from a group of preteens?

A little fishing
Some skits
Canoeing



Outdoor survival skills, like making a campfire in the middle of the woods and then cooking lunch over it.

Building a weatherproof shelter out of sticks and leaves










As the shelter started to really take shape, the kids worked together so well to bring it to completion. 












They beamed with pride over what they accomplished together.  All 17 kids were able to squeeze inside their shelter!
Then we hiked some more and spent time down by the creek looking for different "creatures" and identifying them. 










And in those extra spaces of time, the kids found other recreation opportunities. 


For the most part, the kids did well. Sixth grade girls obviously had their drama, and sixth grade boys got a bit crazy and obnoxious--but thankfully a good heart-to-heart talk around the campfire settled things down for our last night together. Everyone slept well that night!


I only had four girls from my class go on the trip, so I stuck pretty close to them. Two of them will head to Puerto Rico with me in about two weeks!

After packing everything up and eating breakfast, we had one last activity to choose from. Kickball, spear-throwing, or a craft. I went with the craft group, and they all learned how to make God's eyes. Well, some of them had a hard time, so I gave mine to one of the girls who wasn't able to get hers right. 

Since I drove to the camp, that meant I didn't have to ride the bus with a bunch of stinky sixth graders. I definitely wasn't complaining about that. I greatly enjoyed (and needed) that hour of quiet alone time before getting back to school and having to keep them entertained (along with the students back at school who didn't go on the trip) for two more hours before dismissal. Then I stayed a little later than I wanted after school to sort through all the work that I'd left for the sub from my trip to Texas. 
Whew! What a week!

Called to Counsel 2025

When God started to stir my heart to pursue Biblical counseling a few years back, I never in my wildest dreams imagined He'd uproot me and send me far away from my family and my dearest friends to unite that calling with my husband's call to move closer to his friends and family. I started a job where I used Biblical counseling methods daily, and we landed in a church that had a growing, thriving Biblical counseling ministry with several trained and certified Biblical counselors. A group of them go to Forth Worth, Texas (of all places) every spring to attend the Called to Counsel conference. I joined them my first year here and immediately started my training for certification after the conference. I had to livestream the conference the following year because I already had plans to travel to Texas for David's graduation two weeks later, but I was determined to make it this year. I started a new job in the fall and had to work through a pretty big schedule conflict to make it work, but I'm so glad I did. I consider it a real gift from God to be able to travel to Texas with my new church family and also be able to squeeze in some quick family time and catch up with my nearest and dearest Texas friends. Leave it to me to fill my time so full that I'm not left with an ounce of energy by the time I get home. 

I got up at 2 am on Thursday morning to catch a 5 am flight to Dallas. I had asked a very close friend if she could keep her day free and if she could pick me up at the airport, spend the morning with me getting brunch or something, and then drop me off at the conference. She went far above and beyond that by surprising me with a visit with another friend, too! We had a wonderful early brunch together at the cutest little coffee place, then we went into Fort Worth and sat outside by the fountains in Sundance Square playing games, drinking coffee, and eating strawberry cake on pink plates with pink forks. :) I felt so blessed to spend the morning with them. Then we headed to check in to my hotel room, where we ended up sitting together having deep, meaningful conversation and praying together. By the time I checked in to the conference at 2:00, my heart was already full! And my new friend, Ann, from Columbus got to meet my Texas friends right before they headed off. 

Such a beautiful place to hang out!

The conference started around 3:00 at Doxology Bible Church with a beautiful time of worship. What a neat feeling to spend the morning with my close friends from my Lifegroup at LakePointe Church in Texas and then spend the rest of the day and evening with my close friends from Terrace Lake Church (my Indiana church) while in Texas. It was also cool to walk through the different booths and snatch a new pen and chapstick from the DBU booth. Okay, so I probably got a few more trinkets from that booth than any of the others. I think I've supported them enough through two sons' tuitions there, though. Such a great school and environment for both of them in their post high school years. 



The first speaker was Paul Tripp, who started us out in Romans 8:1-11, talking about how Christ gives us a new law, new life, and new power. I specifically took a picture of him because I have a student in my class who's been reading a devotional called New Morning Mercies for Teens by him and has brought it to school every day this semester. I told her I was going to a conference and hear him speak, and she asked me to take a picture for her. I then later bought the same devotional, New Morning Mercies (adult version) for myself to have a better connection with her. 
His first session talked about how the gospel has to be the foundation of everything we do in counseling, and it is the only thing that speaks to the deeper need of everyone. It's the only thing different that we have to offer than everything else out there. 
He left us with the quote that what has the attention of your heart will shape your life. 


There were three more main sessions with everyone together over the next two days, leading us through the rest of Romans 8, teaching us about being Adopted Heirs, our Future and Present Glory, and our Unassailable Security. 


Between the main sessions, there were 8 breakout sessions in different areas, depending on the track you chose. I chose the track on Mental Health, Biblically Unpacking Diagnoses. I learned quite a bit about how mental diagnoses are categorized and defined and how we can view them in light of Scripture, diagnoses like PTSD, Borderline Personality Disorder, Narcissism, Dissociative Identity Disorder, OCD, Scrupulosity, and Gender Identity Disorder. I learned a LOT and have a lot to chew on. We talked a lot of about the differences between our current culture's worldview and a Biblical worldview and how each one shapes us so differently. It piqued my interest to do further study on my own and read several of the books suggested. 

Here's a few pics of a few of our meals together. :)

A lovely taste of home. Brought back memories of Lifegroup dinners after church in Texas. 

We decided to try the Pazookies at BJ's. Very tasty!


My hotel room


After the conference, our group scattered quite quickly in several directions. Thankfully we got a group picture Saturday morning, though I don't have the picture yet to put here. One couple and another lady headed to the airport for a flight home. One lady left two hours before the rest of us for a flight to Atlanta. Another couple headed out to the Grand Canyon to have time to process all that they learned. And I got to see my son, Juan, for the first time since New Year's. :)

Then I got to see one of my best friends in the world, have coffee with her at our old stomping ground, Rosalind, and attend church with her where we raised our kids. I ran into several old friends that I've done bunches of Bible studies with, too. It felt good to be "home" for a bit. 






After that I went to my parents' house and spent the evening with them, though I turned in rather early from exhaustion. The next day I spent quality time just talking with my mom and then we celebrated Mother's Day and my birthday (a week early for both of them) with dinner out together. 

We both wore purple so we coordinated well for a selfie. :)
Then Juan came to get me, so we got another picture with him. 


The rest of the afternoon I spent with Juan. I had a super fun time with him, just being a student of my son and getting to know his world and his heart. 
First we got a small snack, some empanadas from Pollo Campero, where we both remembered eating at together in Guatemala and then also seeing together in Spain. Sweet memories. :) 
He's always had a curiosity and love for all things Asian (I believe it started with his love for Anime, if you know what that is). So he took me for an Asian dessert where he takes his girlfriend, and we enjoyed a Mango Strawberry shaved ice. It was amazing!


Then he took me to this little Asian drugstore (like a CVS), where they also sell little toys and stuff that he and his girlfriend kind-of collect. They're mystery boxes where you don't know which one of the series of the item you're going to get. I chose a fuzzy flower with a panda in the middle, and I just hoped that I'd get the pink one. And I did! What a great memory of a fun day together with my son. :)



As I said earlier, I had to work through a pretty big schedule conflict with school to even make the commitment to go to this conference, and I'm feeling pretty guilty right now for missing out on the first day of camp right now with my students. I also missed out on their end of year DARE party and a big concert type thing that my class participated in. I hated missing any of it. But this yearly conference is also a gift in so many ways. School will always be busy with something, but I just couldn't miss the opportunity to continue training in something I'm passionate about and also see my family and dearest friends. 
Now I'm unpacking and quickly repacking to head off to Day 2 of 6th grade camp first thing in the morning. 

A gift to treasure

 

A year ago on Good Friday, I sat alone in my house and wrote out my testimony to share at our 2024 SHINE Gathering for the women in our church. I wasn't going to be able to attend because it was the same weekend as my son's graduation in Texas. But I felt so deeply compelled to share that weekend, so I set up my phone on a stand, sat in my new little book nook area, dressed up in pink (of course) and shared the testimony I just wrote. 

I then sat down at the puzzle I was working on at my desk to watch my video, and I just wept. May those tears of joy never cease when I'm reminded of God's tender love for me in such fragile time of my life. Click here if you'd like to listen and watch the 20 minute video.  People still tell me today how the Spirit worked throughout the room as I "spoke", and many women have shared how their prayer lives have changed since then. 

My SHINE 2024 Gathering Testimony

All of those comments are such an encouragement to my soul, but may I never take for granted the gift of today. Now a year (and a few weeks) later on Good Friday, I am celebrating Laura's 23rd birthday. For nine years after losing her, I would send out a bouquet of prayers to her on her birthday and say happy birthday to a special princess on Facebook, not knowing if I'd ever have contact with her again. 

In keeping with tradition, I sent her a Happy Birthday message last night as soon as I knew it was April 18th in Spain. I woke up to her response first thing this morning thanking me, saying she loved me and missed me. Then I put out a message on Facebook to celebrate her, though I didn't tag her in it. She saw it, though, and responded again, saying she loved me, missed me, and wanted to see me. Such an amazing gift that God has given me to have a continued relationship with her even though I wasn't the one He chose to be her second mom. To remind me that my love for her had a purpose for a specific time in her life. 

As I sat in the Good Friday service tonight, I remembered how much I played this song when our adoption failed, begging God to take the pieces of my heart and make something beautiful again. I find it quite fitting today to remember the resurrection and beauty that came out of the "death" of our intended adoption. 

SHINE Women's Gathering, 2025

Last Friday and Saturday, I joined a group of 100 women, mostly from my church, to attend our annual women's retreat/gathering. We do an overnight gathering every other year, and then a local gathering in the years in between. This year we met locally in a large church facility right downtown in Columbus.  It left me exhausted (and quite sick, too), but I feel renewed and recharged (and encouraged) for the year ahead. I'm so, so thankful to God for leading us to a church with a thriving women's ministry. 

To say that our team faced quite a bit of spiritual warfare in the days leading up to the retreat would be an understatement. Satan definitely did not want this gathering to go smoothly. Lots of sickness, busyness, bad weather, and just plain overwhelm. But God made it happen, hearts were stirred, truth cemented in us, people connected and shared in deeper, more vulnerable ways, new friendships began,  and just in time before we all got "flooded in" for a few days. 

Our theme was the Holiness of God. We are called to be holy because God is holy. We cannot be holy without God. God's holiness is sacred, separate, and utterly pure. 

Meg, our first speaker (and leader of our Shine ministry), led us through many foundational Scripture verses characterizing God as holy. She put us in a pursuit to fear God out of our love for Him, rather than loving Him out of fear. Her message set the tone for the rest of the weekend as we stood back in awe of God.

Following Meg, Reed shared her testimony of how God relentlessly pursued her as a young adult until she surrendered her heart to Him. Such a beautiful story of how God used her four-year-old daughter to speak God's truth to her, and now to see how she pours her heart into children's ministry because she knows personally the power of a child's faith. Reed and I have only recently gotten to know each other through an intimate group that meets weekly, and we found out we attended high school together in Warsaw, IN! I treasure the new friendship we have made.


After the speaker and testimony on Friday night, we had the option of sticking around for a bit to make Scripture memory bracelets, decorate journals, play in the annual spoons tournament, or just fellowship and make new friends. I think I stayed until about 10:00, and then I started to fade. Lol. 




All the beads to make bracelets. I made one for our theme verse: 1 Samuel 2:2--There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. I used the first letter of each word to help me memorize it (which I haven't done yet). 
This display gets set up at all of our events with different encouraging Scriptural notes. I've had the privilege of making many of them, as that was my first "step" into this ministry. They call it the "Take what you need" display. Now that I know a lot of the women in the church, I've been encouraged to see these cards up in many of their kitchens or homes when I've been invited to visit. 

This is a new friendship this year that I treasure, my Dominican coworker, also a pastor's daughter and very passionate about Bible study. She's a gift from God to me, and she's told me the same about God bringing me into her life. I had to make sure I snapped a picture as we were both decked out in pink!

It was quite a challenge to get back up early Saturday morning and drive back into town in the rain. I felt off, sleep-deprived, congested, and scattered. I'd been battling a slight cough all week (despite staying home one day to nurse it and catch up on sleep). Thankfully I didn't forget to stuff some cold/allergy medicine and VICKS tissues in my pocket at the very last minute because that's what kept me moving.
But what an encouraging sight to see as we set up breakfast for the morning, our prayer team bathing our day in prayer. Without prayer, our weekend could have no eternal impact. 


Our wonderful worship team began our morning by leading us in beautiful worship songs, reminding us again of God's holiness. 


I'd received some rather disheartening news from a close friend in Texas the night before, so she was heavy on my heart that morning as I sang and prayed to God.

I was supposed to go up after the worship time to introduce our first speaker for the day, so I walked over to the side of the room to be ready. I ended up standing beside a lady on the prayer team (gray sweatshirt in the corner), and God lifted my spirit when he reminded me that that particular woman  happened to be the one person in the room who personally knew my dear friend in Texas and her family.


So we went to the prayer room together later and prayed for my friend together. 

Our first speaker for Saturday was my friend, Debbie, who is also incredibly passionate about women's Bible study. She sure gave us a lot to meditate and chew on! We are called to walk in holiness, which can only come from God, but we were reminded that God does not do the walking for us. We must discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness, as 1 Timothy 4:7 tells us. We talked about the Word of God being our weapon and how we need to daily engage with the Word by hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on it, so we are prepared to fight against the deeds of the flesh. She specifically focused on meditating on it--ruminating on it, chewing it over and over until we get all of the nourishment out of it. 

After Debbie, my friend, Theresa, bravely shared her testimony. Such a powerful reminder that God will relentlessly pursue our hearts and that He can redeem anything for good. Now she serves as a Biblical counselor to women who have suffered through many of the things God allowed her to go through earlier in life. Theresa and I are on the Biblical counseling team together at church, have already been to one conference together in Texas, will be going to another one together in Texas soon, and we also share a similar experience/heartache in the adoption world. 



We took a long break for lunch, personal reflection, and fellowship. I enjoyed sweet conversation with my two coworkers and let them know how much I value working with both of them. There are only about 13 certified teachers in the Legado program (with several teacher assistants, too) in our entire community, and it's a blessing to know that three of us are at the same church, being fed the same spiritual nourishment every week and even at events like these. In fact, it was here at this very gathering two years ago where I met Meg (the one in the middle) and found out that there was even a Dual Language school in Columbus. Next year she will be my teammate, and I could not be more thrilled and blessed by that. 

After lunch, our last speaker, Emily, spoke about the importance of putting on holiness. Because without holiness, no one will see the Lord. So we're on a mission. Every day. 



After Emily, my friend, Bev, shared her testimony. Bev is our pastor's mom, who just moved here about a year ago with her sister. Mike and Matt have done a lot of work for them to get their house the way they want it, and they have a lot of fun over there! So I was so excited when I went to a Bible study this fall and met a lady sitting beside me who said, "Oh, you're Mike's wife!" We became fast friends, and she prayed for me specifically about whether or not I was supposed to go on the trip to the Dominican. 
It was so inspiring to hear her testimony about how God pursued her and made himself known to her as a young adult, specifically after her sister had been praying for her. Even more inspiring the next day when her son preached a message from Acts about how God lines up so many details (even hardships) and people in order to draw a heart to him. Had God not reached Bev's heart, we may not have ever heard her son preach that message. I'm sure neither one had any idea how intertwined their messages would be this weekend. 



In addition to all of the speakers, testimonies, worship, and personal reflection, we also had table talks where we got to know the people at our tables better and had some really good discussion about the Scriptures shared.  
By 4:30, the event ended and our team (along with many helpers) pitched in to clean and pack everything up. By this time my medicine had completely warn off, and I felt miserable physically. About an hour later, we all left in the pouring down rain. The emergency management system kept sending messages about imminent flooding happening soon. As I drove through town in the rain, I noticed that the creek waters were definitely very high, and it looked like the very road I drove down would be covered in water shortly. Sure enough, by morning, the road was completely washed out, along with nearly all of the main roads downtown, leaving many without a way to get into town. Our church live streamed the service, so it was shared all over Facebook. I was thankful that God knew ahead of time that I would stay home on Sunday and get the rest I needed to recover more quickly. 

The flooding was so bad that we ended up having an E-learning day for school on both Monday and Tuesday. I was supposed to have my evaluation yesterday morning, and I wondered how it would go since I was so sick when I woke up on Sunday morning. Sometimes God gives us the strength we need to keep going after a big event like this, and sometimes He just gives us rest. I'm definitely soaking up the rest these last three days after feeling so depleted since my trip to the Dominican. 
As I sit and reflect over the weekend, I'm reminded of God's purpose for the local church and the Christian family that it is. I think back to two years ago when I attended my first Gathering and started to really connect with other women. I'll be forever grateful for meeting Meg at that event because that meeting started my journey back into bilingual education. Now here I am two years later, and not only did I get to sit at the registration table and literally welcome each woman to our gathering, but I got to listen to friends, not strangers, speak the Word and share their testimonies. I sat amongst ladies that I've traveled with (either to Texas or to the Dominican Republic) and grown close to, done Bible study with, served on a ministry team with, worked with, gone out for coffee with many times, gone walking together with, met with weekly in different groups, and shared my heart with, prayed with, had dinner with, etc. The Church is family, and I love how my family just keeps growing and extending in this still fairly new chapter of my life. I never knew even five years ago just how much family I still had yet to meet back in Indiana. 

DR Reflections Part 5--A personal bonus

The exhaustion finally caught up to me when a big storm came through last night, knocked out the power for about 6 hours, and kept me awake most of the night. I woke up so tired and disoriented that I couldn't drag myself out of bed early enough to go to school. I'm about ready to take a nap again, but I figured I'd take advantage of the peace and quiet to write another reflection from my trip. 

It was truly incredible to join the Freedom team and actually be a part of the ministry that is continually growing and reaching more and more people for Christ, educating so many students to love God, love others, and live out their God-given design. Mike and I would love to take returning trips there, and I am praying about a specific child that He may lead us to sponsor and begin to build a relationship with, a child that we can possibly visit from time to time in years to come. Only God knows how this trip will continue to affect and impact our own lives back in Indiana. 

But apart from the ministry aspect, the bilingual teacher in me felt so incredibly blessed to be able to visit, observe, and be part of a bilingual school in another country, even if just for a short week. To walk through the classrooms without students and see the set up and decorations in both languages, and then to see it in action was an experience I truly treasured. You could tell I am a teacher because no one else seemed a bit interested in taking pictures of classrooms or classroom doors or taking videos of kids singing their national anthem. Teachers are always soaking up other teacher's ideas and methods. You can never have too many extra tricks up your sleeve to pull from when needed. It also made me.thankful for all of the resources I have available to me and made me wonder how the abundance of materials can actually detract from authentic teaching. 

Kids starting their class out in prayer, specifically praying for students not there that day. Precious. 








Same rules as my own classroom. 
Bible class. 


All the classroom doors were decorated, so I got a picture of each one. One person told me that the Dominican Ministry of Education requires it, while another person said that there's just a lot of pressure to do it. Either way, I enjoyed looking at them all. I love the deep patriotism in this country. 






















I loved this one--the door to the Discipline office. "Are you walking in the Spirit?"


Getting to see a public school in the little village also greatly interested me. I wish I could have seen inside. 

But the biggest bonus to my trip was getting to meet up with my CURRENT coworker in her own country. Such a gift from God, confirming that I'm right on the path He's always had for me (even though I had NO idea that I'd be teaching Dual Language again when I moved to Indiana,) and every experience He gives me builds upon all the previous ones. I didn't even know Susan a year ago, and now we work together every day, attend church together every weekend, attend women's ministry events together, and have a very special spiritual bond and connection. My new Dominican sister-in-Christ.