May’s Memorable Moments

It’s hard to believe we’re on the down side of May, but the calendar doesn’t lie.  Next Wednesday Jacob will be 8 months old (which is incredibly hard to fathom), and the following Monday Jaci and Jacob are returning to the United States.  Time really does seem to be flying for us. 

Speaking of Jacob he’s developing some new tricks.  He really likes to sit up and play and he definitely prefers this to laying on his back or stomach.  He also likes to stand in his Pack & Play and do his little dance.  In addition his first tooth is coming in, so that’s thrown him off a little bit, but certainly hasn’t deterred him from his favorite past time: eating!  I’ve also been introducing him to my favorite past time: watching the Minnesota Twins!

 

For the last three weeks Jaci has been inviting graduating Seniors for desert and prayer time.  So almost every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we’ve been able to sit down and enjoy some time with some precious teens before they depart from college.  In addition Jaci has been proctoring the Senior IB exams, so she’s been trying to balance that in her schedule.

Last weekend I had a chance to lead a group of 70 Middle School Students and 14 Staff members on a weekend retreat.  The theme was “Living Backwards” and we basically were trying to convey the idea that God and His plans for our lives are often contrary to what the world tells us. 

Last Wednesday a group of student leaders I work with put on an event called Fields of Faith.  This is a time where students get together, share testimonies, read Bible verses and sing praise songs.  There were over 70 people in attendance and I think we were all encouraged and challenged in our faith.  

Hope all is well with all of you!  Looking forward to seeing many of you soon!

 

Introducing…

This weekend our school hosted the annual I-Fest (International Festival). This is kind of like a mini-carnival with booths and activities from around the world. This Festival offers TCIS a chance to reach out to other foreigners in the community by offering them entertainment and food from 2pm to sunset. I-Fest also provides an opportunity for many of the school’s student organizations to fund raise for different causes. One such fundraiser, sponsored by the Student Council, was the dunk tank. Many “lucky” teachers were given the opportunity to get dunked by their students. Mike and Christie were two of these “lucky” teachers. Unfortunately, I had to cheat to dunk Mike–there is a reason I am a runner, and that reason is that my aim is awful!

I-Fest also provided us with a chance to hang out with friends. So, I was able to get some pictures of some people who we hold dear, but who most of you will never have the chance to meet. I thought I would introduce them to you, so that you can at least have a chance to hear about some of the wonderful people in our lives here at TCIS.

Christie Barrigar:

We have been co-head coaches of the boys and girls cross-country teams since arriving at TCIS in 2005. We share many of the same passions: running, yelling at students to run faster (some call this cheering), reading, writing, caffeinated beverages, and chatting, chatting, chatting. Christie was with me to help in the delivery of Jacob and has seen me through tough days and great days. One of my favorite things about Christie is the way she speaks Spanish (she is a Spanish teacher); it reminds me of one of my favorite high school teachers.

**In the background of this picture of Jacob and Christie is Mike’s co-worker, Virginia Hood. Virginia moved from being a dorm RA to Student-Life this year and is doing an amazing job mentoring and ministering to students. She is also a great friend to grab a cup of coffee with–swapping family life stories is always a good time too. Oh, and did I mention she ran the Seoul marathon last year!

Chantal McAllister:

Chantal is one of the most amazing examples of a women who lets God’s peace and promises fill her life. Just being around her on a stressful day can be calming. Her and her husband Ken moved from South Africa and began working at TCIS the same year we did.  Like Christie, she too aided me in the delivery room by talking me through the pain, praying over me, and encouraging me to keep going. Chantal is an amazing English teacher and mentor to the students on our campus. She is also in charge of Student Council, and helped to organize the dunk tank fundraiser.  

Dan Gurley:

I cannot say I know Dan too well, but he and Mike are great friends, and I will be getting to know him much better as he will be an RA in our dorm next year. Dan too came to work at TCIS in the fall of 2005. He had talked himself into leaving after this year, but one night over dinner we told him we were moving to the dorm and that he should move with us. So, with a little arm-twisting, we successfully talked him into staying for 2 more years as our RA. (Okay, so he is probably really staying because he met this really cute RA and started dating her!) Dan is great with students, because he loves them with Christ’s love, and we are looking forward to teaming up with him in the dorm next year. As you may be able to tell by the picture, Jacob thinks Dan is great too!

Matt Evans:

Matt is currently the RA in the dorm that we will be taking over next year. He is a fellow Minnesotan and graduate of Crown College–go the Purple Storm. He has been an RA here for 2 years, and will be moving to a new dorm position next year because he is marrying a fellow RA, Amy Blanchard, this coming July. Mike has been honored with the privilege to stand-up for Matt as one of his groomsmen at the wedding in NC. Ironically, Matt and Amy will be moving into our apartment next year. This makes for the 3rd “generation” of Minnesotans in Sae Piang 103-306 (our apt.)–GO TWINS!

In closing I would like to say to all of our friends around the globe, we love you and miss you. Thanks for taking the time to keep up with us via reading our blog (Mike was pretty pumped to see that there were 500+ views of our last entry.)  To those of you who have worked at TCIS, the spring just wasn’t the same without you! Take care all, and many blessings.

Here are some more pictures from I-Fest:

Mike in the dunk tank: The yellow square on the right is what you have to hit with a softball in order to dunk the person on the plank. I was unable to hit the mark, so the students told me I could just punch the button!

Matt trying to dunk Mike.

Christie in the dunk tank.

Dan Sumo wrestling in the 88 degree (F) heat.