The beginning of summer break

walkways are a labyrinth of faces and book bags
books and papers abound
projects in various stages of completion
groaning about the tasks to do and the limited time and energy
when will it end? are we done yet?
the pressure is high

halls are a highway in Nebraska, wide and few travelers
silence and loneliness surround
transitions ahead and goodbyes mostly said
time and days stretch into eternity
what will those left behind do? what now?
the emptiness is papable

Blood and Guts

"Miss Farlin! My frog just blinked!"

Today we got to dissect frogs and fish as a part of the Biology curriculum. The students always enter into the process with fear and trepidation.  But at the end they are proud of their accomplishments. One student looked like he could conquer the world since he conquered his fear of blood.

The frog's hearts were still beating--a cool thing to watch while appreciating the rhythm that God put into living beings. I learned to better identify the kidneys in a fish--specifically in bangus or milk fish.

I'm super thankful for our school janitor who prepared cardboard cutting boards ahead of time, caught the frogs for us even in this dry hot season, and cleaned our classroom up afterwards. His help makes the whole process so much more enjoyable.

What I saw while diving in the Davao Bay

I've got to go diving 3 times over the weekend - one night dive and 2 dives at a new place called White Rock. Here's some pictures that I've collected off the internet of some of the cool things I got to see.

Yellow spotted box fish, similar to a puffer fish

Blue Puffer Fish

We saw 2 small cuttlefish. One let us play with it. The other one squirted its ink and hid.

There were so many feather stars, or crinoids. It's fun to see how quickly they catch on to you when you touch them. One soft coral had 10+ feather stars hanging on to its branches.

One feather star even swam for us like this one.

The banded coral shrimp is a cleaner organism.

I love the shells that a tiger cowrie makes, but seeing the animal in the water brings joy too!

Nudibranchs add more color to the ocean. we saw a small one like this, about the size of my pinky, and a big one, that was closer to the size of my hand. Unfortunately I can't find a picture of the one that was dark purple and round with bright green markings that we saw on the night dive.

January 2014 Praise and Prayer

As we landed in Davao, I was able to
see Faith Academy Mindanao,
with its white roofed buildings,
out the window of the airplane!

Give PRAISE:

• I have arrived in Davao and I traveled in STYLE! I was able to get on every flight that I wanted to and I was seated in a business class seat for 2 out of 3 flights. The extra legroom, scrumptious food, and privacy all helped me to arrive well rested. I have never been so relaxed on a trip across the Pacific!
• My house, my motorcycle, and my classroom were waiting for me in good order. During my first few days back I was easily able to get the essentials prepared to start classes on January 8.
• Many graduates and former students are in town visiting family over the holidays. What a blessing to hear how God is showing himself to be faithful in their lives as they mature into young adults.

Please PRAY:

• For elementary teachers to fill the critical need in four classrooms next school year at Faith Academy Mindanao. (see more in this video)
• I'm back to teaching 4 classes at the high school - AP Calculus, PreCalculus, Geometry, and Biology. Planning, teaching, and managing these classes is a somewhat mundane set of tasks for me, but it brings lots of opportunities to interact with students, fellow teachers, and parents. Please pray with me that God would clearly show me where I should step out in ministry.