Over the Weekend

Howdy!

Hmm, where did I leave off… right. This past weekend the new teachers in the district went to an in-service in Bethel. We arrived there Friday afternoon and it was so nice to do whatever you wanted and not rush. This was the first time in Bethel where we had extra time to shop and not worry about time. I got together with some friends I made at the last in-service and we hung out at one of the teachers’ apartment, then walked around Bethel enjoying the “city” scenes.
I also met a second year teacher, Mike, who teaches in a village (sorry, can’t pronounce or spell it..) He is a new Christian and we had some good discussions about faith and how it plays out in living. It was encouraging to meet another believer! Interesting story about Mike – last year he went out on a snow machine, got lost in the blizzard, and a search team had to go out to find him. It took a full day, but they found him – how he managed not to freeze to death, I don’t know!

When you get to go to Bethel it’s best to take an empty bag to load up on groceries while you’re there. So when we arrived at the District Office they gave us an air mattress and were told to find a place in the end lounge rooms or hallway. We set up camp and headed off with our empty bags to the store, about a miles walk. Saturday after the in service we went out to a restaurant (first time in over 2 months!) and splurged on a $12 burger with fries. We’re going to try and get together over Thanksgiving, either at someone’s village house or in Bethel. Hopefully that will fall in to place. My roommate is going to Anchorage so it’ll be just me. But I would find some Newtokers or something!

On the plane ride back the pilot took us on a detour to Nelson Island, the place Newtok will be moving to in a few years, and we saw lots of muscox and beautiful mountains, springs of water and tundra without puddles of water everywhere. It will probably change years from now, as the permafrost will melt, but it is a beautiful land!

So I got back to Newtok Sunday afternoon and learned the swine flu made it’s way to the village. It’s been bouncing around village to village as people are traveling. So hopefully it won’t spread too far and people will get better soon. There are some kids in the hospital and attendance is low. If we have the attendance numbers we had today we’re gonna close the school for the rest of the week and make it up Saturdays.

Guess that’s it for now. Have a great week! :-)

Kim

Cross Country Team

Our cross country team traveled to Bethel Friday to compete in a district-wide meet. Of course, the only way we could get there was to fly, so the 7 students, the other chaperone and I waited around the school until we hear to pilot on the VHF tell us he was 5 minutes from Newtok. The electricity was out at the school again, so there was not much we could do indoors. They shut the generator down every few days of so for an hour or 2, and all the village is without electricity.

So anyway, we walked up to the airport with our backpacks and sleeping bags. The kids were so excited – on average, they go to Bethel a couple times a year. Some have only ever been a couple times in their lives. They visit other villages every so often on snow machines during winter, but they are all similar. Bethel has roads and cars, stores and restaurants! The population is around 5,000. We loaded our luggage underneath the 10 seater bush plane and took off. It takes around 40 minutes to fly from Newtok to Bethel. It felt good to walk on solid ground – actual dirt instead of mud, and pavement instead of boardwalks.

We arrived in Bethel around 5:00 and someone from the district office drove us to the high school, where all the village teams would stay the night. We got our room assignments (a health classroom) and laid our sleeping bags around the desks. There is only one girl on the Newtok team so it was her and I rooming with the team from Tunuk, the village on a nearby island where Newtok will actually be moving to in a few years.  

After we got settled in we walked to the store before supper. It was a mile’s walk and a beautiful day! 
I saw some friends I made at the new teacher inservice and it was great to get to hear all about their own adventures. The next morning we had to put all our luggage in trashbags because they expected rain. There were no shelters at the course. But it never did rain, thankfully.

It was a beautiful place, foggy when we arrived but it cleared up by the time the races began. It was a weaving course, all in sand, up and down hills. We walked it together when we first got there so students would know exactly where to run. There were flags, but still, it helped to know beforehand. The sunrise was breathtaking! My batteries didn't last very long, but I did get some good shots of cool stuff - we saw bear tracks in the path! But our team did pretty good, we're not sure if anyone is going to the next level or not. I posted some great pictures on facebook... you should check them out.

If you go to www.adn.com our team made the front page a few weeks ago - they have pictures of our kids training on the boardwalks.

(((((You)))))

Nutty in Newtok

For those of yall who have missed him, I posted some pictures on facebook of my good friend and travel companion.


http://www.facebook.com/kimcary?ref=nf#/album.php?aid=2017937&id=159100597

P.S. Thank yall SO much for the comments. I love hearing from everyone :-) and I appreciate the advice and prayers. They have both helped... I love you all!

Kim Possible (my new nickname :-) )

Hmm

Colossians 3:23 says “Whatever you do, work at it will all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."

In case you didn’t know this about me, I tend to be a perfectionist. When something I’ve completed is not done to the best of my ability it really bothers me. My work is organized and thorough. In college I learned a Greek word from my soccer coach: Kopian. It means “Labor for the Lord until utter exhaustion.” I have this posted on my notebook that I use every day, and it reminds me to give everything I’ve got to everything I do.

Ever since I became a teacher 5 weeks ago I’ve felt anything but organized. I keep feeling like I don’t deserve to be here because everything seems like it’s up in the air, things thrown together and not making complete sense. I never have enough time to be fully prepared, and as a result I feel like I’m letting the kids down and God down. I continually second guess myself, and I over analyze even the smallest things.

I know, I know… everyone keeps telling me this is normal your first year of teaching. And I think about that every day, and it does give me at least some mental relief. But I worry constantly. I stress over being the best teacher I can possibly be and at the same time being the godliest role model and person I can be. And I know that as long as I’m putting in that effort, giving God and everyone else my very best, that’s all I can do – but I still feel… stuck, I guess is the word. I’m having trouble visualizing the big picture. I’m just trying to be the best I can be right now, and I know that’s all I can do, but I’m always trying to better myself and I can never settle for where I am now.

Is it wrong to strive for perfection? Because in a sense, striving for perfection is not accepting you’re human, and humans can never be perfect. But at the same time, we can’t be content with where we are because we always have sometime to work on!

So I guess this post doesn’t really have a purpose, I just wanted to get some thoughts out of my overloaded mind. Take what you want from it, and give me some advice if you have any!

Utterly exhausted,
Kim

Pushing On

Hey Guys!

I hope yall are doing good! I've been very very busy up here, and even though I feel like I'm just getting by in the classroom, time has flown by already, and I can't believe we're already 3 weeks into the school year.

Even though Newtok is isolated, we have visitors every week or so who stay for a few days. Mostly they are reporters who are covering the erosion story. They interview elders and take lots of pictures. The other day a couple just left who actually live in Switzerland and are doing a project - they travel the world in a year to places that are being affected by global warming. They stayed 4 days and it was nice to see new "guspuk" faces (The natives call white people guspuks). They showed us some pretty amazing pictures they took in Africa, China, and other places. Actually they are talking at the moment with Time Magazine and Newtok may appear in the November publication. We should find out pretty soon.
Another visitor we had was U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski. She came and discussed with the elders the plan for moving the village and the students also. Many of the elders don't speak English, so we had Grant (the principal) translating. It's really interesting how the elders are so respected. When an elder speaks the students stop what they're doing and actually listen Why won't they listen in class?!?

The view from out house is really beautiful. We can see the river and across to the island. In the mornings we see some of our students doing their chores, which include taking the family's honeybucket to the dump. I feel sorry for them, especially since we've had problems with our burner in the incinolet!

The weather is getting colder and I'm anxious for the snow to fall! My snowboots came in the mail about a week ago and I can't wait to try them out. :-) Everyone else can't wait for winter to come either, because they say it's much easier to get around the village. Now we have to walk on boardwalks, but when the snow comes they can go anywhere on snowmachines. But they also say until the snow on the ground becomes packed you have to memorize where the boardwalks are so you don't sink. I don't know how long it'll take for that to happen but I'm stoked about all the stuff I've only see in movies! ...snowball fights, skiing, sledding... !

About the bible study I mentioned, that's not going to work out like I hoped, at least not at the house. I typically don't leave the school until around 8:00 at night, so weekends will work out best. I've casually talked with some of the students about God and they asked questions about Christianity. From what I gather they aren't too familiar with the basics of Christian apologetics. I have a couple of Bibles I leave in my classroom, and during reading time they seem to enjoy flipping through them and reading them. Some kids are obviously set in their secular ways, but I know God is at work here and He has some amazing plans ahead, I'm certain!

I guess that's it for now, I hope everyone is doing great and thanks again for your prayers.

In His Grip,
Kim

Fun video

Howdy folks!

I just posted a video on facebook that has some cool clips of Newtok, so check it out!

(the link is in the post below)

-Kim