Teaching Adventures

  • Not Funny Jay!

    One thing about living far away is that our family and friends haven’t seen Jay grow up in this first year, so I like to blog about his developments so everyone can get an idea of where he is at.

    Jay loves to explore all over the house. Listening is not his strong point so once he sees something he wants to touch or hold he gets VERY determined! He makes all sorts of noises and seems to have conversations with everything (toys, us, Cassie, his food) He is also getting in his second molar. He is still a good sleeper, 2 two hour naps a day plus 12 hours or so at night. He likes to eat food and drink milk and water (especially in the bath, yuck!). We are working on getting him to not hit. He thinks it is funny when someone is holding him to smack them in the face. “No Jay, that is not funny, gentle.” But he is so cute with his smile and giggle. We love him so much!

     

  • Final Stages

  • Final Stages

    We are in the final stages of leading the School of Biblical Studies here in Kyiv. We have just over a month left and it is exciting to watch the students as they make it through the prophetic books in the Old Testament. 4 out of the 8 students will be taking part in Titus Project this fall. This is exciting because now we can help them to take all this bible knowledge they have and use it to help others grow closer to God.

    Personally, we have been waking up tired every day. Each day looms ahead with a multitude of things on the to-do list, and the feeling like there isn’t enough time. To be honest, we have taken on too much and we have been in survival mode for the last little while. We are really looking forward to a break this summer in Canada.

  • In the Wind

  • Three Three Three Round 2

    Here is an alternate version of Three Three Three. Brought to you by the slick engineering at Animoto.com (but you have to pay for more pixels).

  • Angela’s Reading Skills

  • Really, she LUVS Pink

  • Cassie’s Pinkalicious Party!

  • Happy Birthday Cassie!

    “

    Look at me me me, I’m three three three, I’m as happy as can be be be, Can you tell? Can you see? I’m a very very happy me! I can build my blocks, put on my socks, I can even draw a circle.

    We love you little girl – you’re a wonderful treasure in our life!

    You have a wonderful attitude, bring such joy to us with your singing and dancing. You blow our socks off with how intelligent you are, you’re always learning new things, drawing new conclusions, using big new words and really surprising us at every turn! You’re the most wonderful gift from God we have ever received! You are finally three three three! :)

    PS. You can watch a clip of Cassie performing the above song with her mom here or a different one here.

  • Three Three Three

    This is a special performance of Three Three Three by Ang and Cassie D!

  • At the Park

    Cassie sure is growing up really fast! At the park she is no longer satisfied without a challenge. “Let’s do the big slide”, “I want to climb on the rainbow” (monkey bars in a semi-circle shape), “look Mom, I’m pumping” as she swings (although she still needs a lot of pushing). We’re practicing on the tricycle. Inside the house, she is painting pictures and using different colors on different objects, reading books and of course, helping her brother overcome any obstacle he encounters.

  • Side x Side Cassie in the Sand

    Jay sure is enjoying spring over here. Digging in the sandbox, playing with the shovels and trucks, eating the rocks he finds, he’s into it all! But it sure is a pleasure to watch him run after his sister, climb the stairs for the slide when she does, sometimes even get on the swing with her. He’s got a great older sister to look up to his whole life long!

  • Growing Up So Fast

  • Jay’s Diggin’

  • Cassie’s Friend Katya

  • Jay’s Friend Rawly

  • Church Picnic & Baptisms

  • Cooking with Cassie

  • Vicka

    We like to introduce you to different people we meet, since that helps you understand our life a little more.

    Today I want to introduce Vicka. Vicka is a student in our bible school. She is Ukrainian and has a passion to teach God’s word. She will do Titus Project this fall to get stronger in her teaching skills and to bring Bible teaching to a country that really needs discipleship.

    Here is her testimony:

    Being born in a family with Orthodox beliefs, I was baptized almost after birth and given a cross to wear at all times as a symbol of Christianity. The existence of God is a fact that I have always known.God was, He is, and He always will be.

    But a lot of times, what is visible on the outside is not reflected inside.

    Yes I knew ABOUT God, but I didn’t know Him.

    Time was passing and life was bringing more struggles as I grew up. The Soviet Union collapsed and had a great influence on every person and every family. I hardly saw my parents at home as they were trying to earn some money to make ends meet. I was growing up “on the street” and at the age of 12 I almost commited a suicide. I was so disappointed in life and all it had to offer, that I said: “ God I’m not going to believe in You anymore!” A year passed, and I experienced God’s grace pour out on me. After attending a Christian camp I experienced something I never knew, some One I’ve only heard about. God found me at the age of 13, and I was saved. I made a decision to ask God to come into my heart and change my life, and then was baptized, after truly believing. Since then I had a strong desire and motivation to help out kids at these Christian camps to find out who God is and who they are in Him.

    Lately God’s been teaching me how to build up my faithfulness, teaching me how to trust in Him with patience and what humbleness is before Him. He showed me my heart and revealed that being faithful starts from the inside. I knew that, but sometimes my priorities were not set straight, letting other things take 1st place in my heart. I thank God for always being faithful, guiding me in His footsteps so that I may have a good example to follow.

    God is my Lord, my Father and my Friend.
    He is my beloved and i belong to Him..    .

    Just as a side note, Vicka is planning on moving into long term missions after this bible school and will need monthly supporters so if you are interested in being a part of her team just let us know and we will get you connected.

  • Autotelic

    “An autotelic person needs few material possessions and little entertainment, comfort, power, or fame because so much of what he or she does is already rewarding. Because such persons experience flow in work, in family life, when interacting with people, when eating, even when alone with nothing to do, they are less dependent on the external rewards that keep others motivated to go on with a life composed of routines. They are more autonomous and independent because they cannot be as easily manipulated with threats or rewards from the outside. At the same time, they are more involved with everything around them because they are fully immersed in the current of life.” – Csikszentmihalyi, 1997, p.l17

    “… autotelic by nature—ie, internally driven, like missionaries. As such, they are not attracted by the material rewards that motivate ordinary folk. Their work alone provides them with all the satisfactions they need. But there is much that can be done to nurture lesser minds. And that is true not just for computer programmers.” –Economist