Creativity Fair Preparation!

Creativity Fair is coming up next week and the creativity is turned on and up in our classroom! It's a school-wide event where the students showcase their learning in a classroom expo, and then give a presentation to the parents afterwards.

Here's a little sneak peek into the beautiful madness thats going on in my classroom this week. As one of my favorite teachers would say, "Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!" ;)

This year we chose to do an "International" theme in our classroom. We're showcasing the countries Japan, Palau, South Korea, Philippines, Australia, and China.

The kids have been busy painting flags, gathering research for their countries, and learning a song that they will sing for the parents.

Stay tuned to see it all put together next week Thursday! EEK! 

Xoxo, Rach

The Polaroids are Back

In the past two years I’ve been in Palau, I’ve noticed that there are always a few fads amongst the missionaries. Last year everyone was hard core GoPro and Nalgene. This year everyone is still hard core GoPro, has a hydroflask water bottle, and almost all the girls have polaroid cameras. Including me. 

My husband bought mine for me while we were on a short trip in Guam this past December and I made him wrap it and hide it from me as a Christmas gift. (I get it from my mom)

I would like to thank the brilliant person who brought these classic cameras back into style. I always thought they were the coolest thing and was kinda upset that they were past my time. Not anymore! Yay!

Here’s my little beauty.
This is a Fujifilm Instax Mini 8. On average they run $60-$70 in store or online. 

Of course she’s yellow because I wouldn’t have it any other way. I almost got sucked in to picking a more “mature” color like black (which is very classy), but who am I kidding. I got the yellow.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT IT
You get the pictures right away. I’m guilty of having hundreds of pictures on my iPad that I may never print. I love the old school charm of film. The cameras also come in a wide variety of colors and the photos are the perfect size to stick in a card or journal.

Besides getting super cute pictures instantly, the cameras themselves are pretty easy to use. The film isn't difficult to put in and there's really nothing much to it, besides the learning curve that I'll explain below.

WHAT I PUT UP WITH
There’s quite the learning curve on these bad boys. Although they are tons of fun, be prepared to have some “womp womp” moments when the picture doesn’t come out exactly how you want it to. That's the gamble with film. Sometimes you might have to use a different setting and try taking it again, but of course that means you used up another exposure. It all depends on how badly you want the picture. The beginning was a little rough for me, but once I got the hang of it, I never wanted to put it down. 

WHERE I GET MY FILM
I found that one of the best places to buy film is on amazon. It comes out to about $1 a picture and you can get better deals online than you can in the store. CAUTION: You may also find tons of other cool accessories for your polaroid and you may get sucked in: lenses, film, camera bags, etc. You've been warned.

If you love picture-taking like me, I'd say this little camera is worth it. :)

Happy picture taking!
Xo,
Rach

Glorious Mornings

Sunday morning, a few people from church wanted to have a sunrise breakfast and devotion at the bridge, so me and a few other missionary girls woke up at the crack of dawn to watch the sun rise.

We woke up bright and early, drank some double shot espresso from Starbucks and headed on our way. (In case you were wondering, there is no Starbucks in Palau--a friend hooked me up!)

We got there just as these glorious rays started coming over the Rock Islands. It was amazing how everything went from purple to pink to gold and then blue.

After such a slow and beautiful morning, I realized that too many of my days start in a frenzy. I'm always in a hurry, my eyes are groggy, my stomach is growling, and the days demands already press hard on me at 6:30am with a long list of things to do. I kinda wake up grouchy when I know I have so much to do. Horrible, I know.  

But even though I was up at an ungodly hour for a Sunday, it was a GOOD day! I did my report cards, prepped for my sister-in-law and husband who are visiting next week (eek!), took a nap, did laundry, AND watched a movie with the hubby all in one day! I need to say it again. It was a good day. 

So I'm challenging myself to do what I can to have slower, more peaceful mornings. Peaceful mornings lead me to more peaceful and productive days, can't say no to that! That might mean I need to wake up a few minutes earlier so I can eat my breakfast sitting at my table rather than eating it in the car, but it will be worth it. 

Most importantly, I give God credit for my good day. When I made time to seek Him, and in such a beautiful spot, it made everything else fall into place for the rest of the day. I need to remember to dedicate my mornings to Jesus before my feet hit the floor so that I can have more beautiful days like this. 

Heres to more glorious mornings. 

Xo, Rach 

February's Best Moments

February came and went all too quickly. Recapping some of my favorite moments of this sweet month. 

Mrs. Rachel's 4th Grade Class 

Palau Mission Academy's Valentine's Banquet

2016 Palau Football Association Champions :) 

The island of Peleliu

Palauan Rainbows

Valentine's Night with some of the Gals. :) 

Such a fun month. Here's to a new one! 

XO, 

Rachel 

Heaping Mounds of Grace

I messed up at least 1,000 times earlier this week and it let out in the form of tears twice throughout my day. I'm sure there are a few of you who have had those days when you've had to push down the tears at work. Not a fun day.

It started at 6am and continued right until 3pm. By the end of that day I felt irresponsible, untrustworthy, and unprepared. I wanted to put my head in a hole and never come out.

It was a horrible feeling.

But then there was grace.
God sweetly reminded me that no matter how badly we mess up we can always go to Him and that we should also pass this same sweet grace along to others. Because the truth is that we all fall short some days.

I learned my lesson. I want to be able to extend grace to others on those horrible days, because nobody's head belongs in a hole, especially if we are all sinners. We tend to be a little hard on ourselves. We need to give ourselves a little bit of grace.

I shared the story of my day with my colleagues at staff worship later on in the week, and it became so very clear. Everyone is in need of grace. The kind of grace that washes over us and gives us peace and assurance that somebody loves us no matter what. Our world has a huge need. Our world NEEDS grace. We are too quick to judge and complain. We should be responding with grace.

We live in a world where everything has to be earned: our vacation time, our position at work, our airline mileage rewards. But grace doesn't have to be earned. It can't be earned. Grace is a gift. That gift is free and its yours and mine today.

"For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works so that no one can boast." 

Ephesians 2:8,9

Grace, upon grace, upon grace. Heaping mounds of sweet and savory grace.
Thank you Jesus.

"From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace." 

John 1:16