So many firsts...

If I were to name a theme of this semester, I would have to call it "Season of Unexpected Firsts." Here are some from the past quarter, a collection of blog posts that I meant to make if you will:

• PE Teacher- Since I got back from the spring break, I have been teaching upper elementary and high school PE . I know, right? Molly Evans teaching PE?! I laughed when I found out too, so feel free to chuckle at the irony. It has definitely been a stretching (pardon the pun) experience, but I have really enjoyed getting to work with so many different classes.

• Drama Assistant- I was in charge of the stage crew people. For the first time ever I painted backdrops and helped design tickets and programs. I worked with a great group of students who worked really hard. The drama was a couple weeks ago, and it was so cool to have had the opportunity to be a part of something like that.
  

• Volleyball Coach- I had the most awesome experience coaching the girls volleyball team throughout the months of April and May. Ever since middle school, there has been a special place in my heart for the sport of volleyball, so it was such a blessing to get to coach for the first time. I co-coached with the fourth grade teacher. We had nine girls on the team, and although it was more of a learning season, I was so proud of their improvement from the beginning to the end. It was so much fun to get to share my knowledge of the game with them. It was also interesting to realize that I have been blessed with some of my father's competitive tendencies, thanks dad:) Our last game of the season was against some of the female teachers. The other coach and I played with our girls and put up a good fight, but lost three games to zero in the end. I had so much fun, and I hope to coach again next year.

• Housing Contract- Jennie, Emily, Emma and I finally got a house about a month ago, and because I will be here for the next two years, I got to sign the contract. It is a nice house in a nice development about a three minute drive from the school. We have a nice big living/dining room, five bedrooms and three bathrooms. It has been quite a challenge trying to negotiate all the little details that our Indonesian landlord doesn't always understand, but it has been really neat to see the Lord provide housing, not just for us, but for all the teachers one by one. It will be a challenge next year, learning how to live without the luxuries of Starbucks and the grocery store being right down the street, but it will be nice to have a good support system at home.

• Neighborhood Goodbye Party- Our school is moving at the end of July out of a community where we've been for over fifty years. We invited the Indonesian people that have worked at our school, as well as the helpers of the teachers at BAIS. It was a traditional goodbye party with music, stories, and Indonesian food. I haven't been here very long, but it was still cool to hear the stories of the legacy this place will have left.
  

• Pampered Weekend- We took a weekend trip to Jakarta at the beginning of the month. We took the train and stayed at a nice hotel near the good shopping and dining. One of the days we spent at the amusement park, that turned out to be everything an Indonesian amusement park should be:) One of the highlights was a new ride called Extreme Log. It was one of those simulation rides kind of like Soarin' Over California at California Adventure. Rather than para-gliding through the Sunshine State, you are a tree on the painful adventure of becoming a log. Nope, I'm not kidding. It definitely places as one of theweirdest things I have experienced here in Indonesia. We all came out a little confused, but got a good laugh out of it:) That night we went to see Iron Man at a luxury movie theater. This place was amazing! We each got our own personal leather recliner with a blanket and had dinner brought to us. That is definitely the way to see a movie, totally worth the $12!

• My own classroom- On each of our trips out to our new house, we always make sure we stop by the new campus to see the progress made. They are currently working on the main building where everything will be until we get enough money to build a separate auditorium, gymnasium and office building. It is going to be really nice when they finish it. Every time we go, I have to take a couple minutes to stand in my classroom and try to picture what next year is going to look like. I don't think it has quite sunk in that I will have my own classroom next year, but I look forward to the memories that will be made in there.
  

• Learning to say goodbye- When you live in a transient community such as this one, you have to not only learn how to say goodbye, but you've got to learn how to do it unexpectedly. There is no room to procrastinate when it comes to spending time with people, because you never know when they might be called somewhere else outside of Indonesia. As the year comes to a close, I am faced with the question of how to say goodbye to some co-workers who have become my family , and some students that have captured my heart over the past year. I'm not sure if there is a perfect answer to that question, but I do know that I can trust my Heavenly Father to help maintain those deep relationships despite the distance. While a little heartbroken, I am excited to see how He continues to work in and through them.

As you can see, this semester has been full of life changing experiences with a lot of learning, laughter, some stress, some tears, but above everything, full of His grace and provision. Along with these "firsts," I have learned what it means to be refined through the fire. Each of these experiences has held a special role in chipping away at a version of myself that was more prone to wander, wallow and worry. I am able to look at next year with new eyes that can face the fears of the unknown knowing I don't have the strength, but with utter certainty that He does.
I leave a week from tomorrow to head back to Flagstaff for the summer. I am excited to come home for a little break from the world of teaching and to get charged up for next year. My plans include lots of time to spend with you, catching up and sharing stories and pictures from this semester.

Here's a more detailed itinerary:
June 3rd- Arrive in Flagstaff
June 6th- Abby graduates
June 7th- 9th- Road trip with Abby to her camp in New Mexico
June 10-22- Hanging out in Flagstaff
June 23-July4th- Pre-Field Orientation in South Haven, Mississippi
July 4th-July10th- Visiting friend in North Carolina
July 10th-July 28th- Hanging out in Flagstaff
July 29th- Head back to Indonesia