April 2018 Summary

Kangaroo Book Club - April 7, 2018

 A character building storytime with craft Saturday session was shared with neighborhood children. It was hosted by the Kangaroo Book Club, a book ministry of my Korean missionary friends Sandy and Jae Bae.

Grandma Gracie discusses with children
about why folks wear aprons.

In "Grandmother's Aprons: A Quilt Story,"  (https://tickletheclouds.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/grandmothers-aprons-flannelboard/) a little boy  recalls 12 special experiences with his Grandma that resulted in 12 colors of aprons, and passes on those stories to his own grandchildren. 

Dramatizing "The Little Red Hen" with Stuffed animals and puppets:
 hen, cat, dog, sheep.  Proverbs 12:14 was shared - "Wise words bring
 many benefits, and hard work many rewards."

Children joined in the repeating lines of "The Little Engine that Could,"
 The Enormous Turnip," and "Llama, Llama Red Pajama."

Action Rhyme: "A Hippopotamus"

Turtle/tortoise craft to accompany story
"The Tortoise and the Hare"

The finished take-home project labeled "Slow and steady wins the race"
 to help them remember "The Tortoise and the Hare."
Youngsters had dramatized"that story with puppets, related to
Ecclesiastes 7:8 - "Finishing is better than beginning.
Patience is better than pride."

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Faith International Academy (FIA)

Terra Nova Standardized Testing.       April 3- 6 was Terra Nova Week at FIA. I was on call to help out when / where needed. One morning I administered the Terra Nova to the second grade because their teacher was ill. It was fascinating... at this level the teacher reads each question slowly to the students and they bubble in their answer under the appropriate picture (except for math, they do their calculation on blank paper and bubble in their answer).  

Homeschool and Preschool Storytime - "Letters U and  V"

Several preschool-age children are rather fascinated with our baking soda-vinegar-drops red food coloring and dish detergent volcano during our "Letters U and  V" session of  Homeschool / Preschool Story and Craft Time. When sending me this pic, Mrs. Sharp wrote, "You're the best, Mrs. Watts! We so appreciate the effort you put into making it a fun, learning experience for our little ones!!" Aw, thanks!

BOOK ORDERING   

Many hours were spent reviewing lists of book requests from staff and students collected since I came to Faith International Academy, looking for best deals on amazon.com; making carts, adjusting prices on my PC records (seem to change almost daily), going back to get shipping weight of individual items, matching weights and delivery dates to weight available in suitcases and departure dates of people coming to Philippines, shuffling and reshuffling book carts...

 The process is not over, but approximately half the orders (9 shipments from various vendors) are on their way to a U.S. address to be repacked into a suitcase - to arrive this month. I am currently working on the next big batch of books to teachers' family to come to Philippines with summer break return.  I thank God for all the folks who gladly join in behind the scenes to support the education of missionary children.

Birthday Fellowship honoring fellow teacher Miss Lee (front left). 

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Christ Fellowship Church (CFC)

The church I regularly attend offers a variety of life and ministry enriching seminars. I try to take them in when my evening and weekend schedule allows.

"Excelling in Relationships" Seminar  -  4.19-20 

The "Excelling in Relationships" Seminar  was led by Pastor David Meengs, author of six books. I went looking for principles that relate to relational evangelism.

Some of Esther Care Group members
at the Excelling in Relationships Seminar.

To revisit  principles of relational evangelism
 and a group study of Becoming a Contagious
 Christian: Six Sessions on Communicating
 Your Faith in a Style that Fits You in central
 Florida decades ago, I am enjoying this
 audiobook pictured.  So thankful for my Kindle!

  

Jesus Strategy Overview -  April 26-28

We worked our way through the manual,  Disciple Making Overview from the Life of Christ. (live26.org)

Small groups generated lists of our church's outreach programs
 and also a list of needs in the community for comparison.

March 2018 Summary

Elementary Chapel: "Strengthening Friendships"

It was my privilege to be  Elementary Chapel speaker on March 8. My theme verse was 1 Thessalonians 5:11 - "Encourage one another and build each other up." 

 

  

Having left the majority of my creative ministries resources in the U.S. this time, I was thrilled to find online the "Nose to Dog - Faithfulness" carton art lesson from the book "Dewey's Gospel Cartoon Chalk Talks" that I have in storage. Children dramatized "The Lion and the Mouse" with puppets to illustrate Matthew 7:12 - "In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you" and "The Tortoise and the Hare" demonstrated 

Ecclesiastes 7: 8 - Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride.  My little friend "Dorothy" joined me in sharing the puppet skit, "Let Your Light Shine" based on Matthew 5:16 to emphasize letting the love of God shine through us in all that we do and say including with friends. 

The thank you letters with hand drawn pictures from Miss Winslow's first grade were delightful and much appreciated.

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 Women's Retreat 

On March 24th, Karen Lynip (front row, far right) spoke powerfully to this group on the topic "Come to the Wilderness Table."  Illness threatened Karen and Steve's several week return to the Philippines, but we are grateful they pushed on and for Karen's anointed words that spoke to various ladies in different ways.  There was a precious time of personal sharing and prayer afterward Karen's presentation.

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65 Years Young!

 A lovely tradition other staff and I have experienced at Faith International Academy is receiving a dozen red roses and some chocolates on our birthday (member care). My birthday was on the first evening of Easter break, but I appreciate these friends (including my housemate Naomi) taking the time to celebrate with me at dinner, complete with a "Happy Birthday" song. They sounded good!

 My Facebook post: "Wow! THANK YOU for EACH and EVERY birthday greeting! From across many seasons of my life, from four continents, multiple generations and nationalities of friends, family, former students… your greetings make my birthday week very special. I am deeply BLESSED."


Blasts from the past  arrived  via Facebook, Messenger, email, and LinkedIn.  Many came from the U.S., Cameroon, and the Philippines, but one even from a short-term student in Cameroon, now back in Poland. Facebook, especially, makes the world smaller and the years past seem closer to us. My heart was warmed and lifted. THANK YOU!

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The Whole30 Day by Day: Your Daily Guide to Whole 30 Success. Melissa Hartwig. 2017.  This is a daily handbook to keep you motivated, inspired, accountable, and engaged during your Whole30 journey. Hartwig coaches you one day at a time - sharing a timeline, personal motivation, community inspiration, habit hacks, meal tips, with clear guidance for self-reflection, food journaling, and tracking non-scale victories. She helps you plan for the introduction phase. 
          This  book was part of my new journey Whole30 elimination diet  (much free info & recipes online) that removes dairy, all grains, legumes, and sugar for thirty days...then reintroduces one food group at a time and waits several days to see how the body reacts. I am in the reintroduction phase now.
           PTL - I have lost a little over ten pounds! (My goal is 25 more). I have more energy, less inflammation and less brain fog. My housemate is on a modified version of the Whole30 with gluten-free foods for life because of her lupus and it is a blessing to do much shopping and cooking together. 

Refusing to Quit: True Stories of Women Over. Dr. Joyce Knudson. 2016. Redefine your retirement. These women have. Here are twenty inspiring examples of the power, perseverance and tenacity of women over sixty.


This is an inspiring read as I seek God's guidance for ministry and service with my own official retirement planned for summer 2019.  Currently I am reading biographies of children's authors from our school library. Especially inspiring to me was the one about prolific writer Beverly Cleary who was also a children's librarian and is now 101 years old. I strongly feeling God nudging me to prepare to take writing off the back burner. It was been a few decades since I've had anything published...a long time dream has been to write character building children's books that incorporate Biblical principles -  for use in public schools and public libraries. I am thankful for all the children's literature that already has strong moral messages which can be easily connected to scriptures for use in Christian education and children's ministry...and want to add to it.

February 2018 Summary

Teachable Moments

During a library skills session of "Dewey Charades" to review the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal Subject Classification system for nonfiction books, one fourth grader dramatized something in sign language for the 400's - Languages. I took it to another level by teaching the whole class to sign the song "Jesus Loves Me." We at Faith International Academy are to integrate Bible into our curriculum. The majority of these students are children of missionaries involved in various kinds of ministry. It was a joy to train them to assist their parents. 

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Around Faith International Academy Library...

FIA  Grandma Gracie after Quilt Story
After Kindergarten Literature Enrichment session related to their language arts story of the week, Abuela, my Grandma Gracie puppet gives high-fives to students outside the library. Inside I had shared a favorite story used in Cameroon and Florida libraries, "Grandmother’s Aprons," with colorful felt squares on a makeshift flannel board. If interested, see https://tickletheclouds.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/grandmothers-aprons-flannelboard/.

Middle Schoolers

A part of my service at Faith International Academy is checking out books to middle school students on Fridays.

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Friends, Food, and Fellowship 
So enjoyable to fellowship with friends and get acquainted with other persons serving in or supporting Bible translation. Jacqueline Huggins (2nd from left) and her assistant Melanie (center) were in Davao from Palawan for a workshop. 

Jacqueline shared her testimony during high school chapel, a shortened version of what she shared at Urbana 96 posted at https://vimeo.com/84328661. Inspiring! I love her easy-going boldness in sharing her faith.

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Golden Apples for Golden-Agers: Devotionals Written by and for Seniors

by Leroy Brightup and Eva M. Brightup.  This book shares what old age is like from those who have experienced it firsthand as Christian writers reflect on finding spiritual meaning in their golden years. Christian seniors reveal their experiences and feelings and how they cope with aging. Each devotional includes a Bible passage, an inspirational reading, a related song, and prayer.

I am finding this book encouraging  and I want to get back in mindset again of writing devotionals. It's been several decades since I have written and had devotionals published. This is on my projected list after full retirement next year.