I can't believe it's been just about five months since I've been out here in Texas. So much has happened in that time and it feels like its absolutely whizzed by.
Schools| The work we have been doing in the schools has been wonderful and has been particularly good over the past couple of months. I've really enjoyed getting to know the kids in our two schools and they are so friendly and welcoming. It is not always all smiles as both the schools we work in are in low socioeconomic areas which comes with its own challenges. What's been really great is watching some of the kids share their faith in such an unashamed way. We went to the school talent show a couple of weeks back and these two girls sang the song 'How He loves us'. It was so beautiful and all the students cheered them on with some singing along - it felt like church at school #priceless
Black Friday| I experienced my first Thanksgiving this year much to the surprise of many of the students we work with! They could quite get their heads around the fact that it's only an American holiday - I don't think they quite know the history of Thanksgiving haha.
It was a good time with good food - not exactly the traditional Thanksgiving I had in mind but I guess I'll just have to come back next year for that.
Black Friday was crazy!! The sales basically started at the beginning of the week and got crazier towards the end. Some people camped outside stores two weeks in advance #really-_- #notaboutthatlife
After Thanksgiving dinner (Thursday) we went to see what the sales where like. Before going I had the stereotypical image of people wheeling around big TVs and after going I can confirm it is the TRUTH!! It was so much fun - I wanted to take lots of pictures but I didn't want to upset anyone because this is Texas and people carry guns...
I went to Macy's and they had a live band playing!! Honestly it was such a fun experience. The shopping mall closest to me (where the Macy's is) didn't close all night - it was open from 6pm on Thursday to 10pm on Friday!
Christmas and New Year| I'm definitely going to miss not be with my family at Christmas this year but I'm looking forward spending time in New Jersey and Toronto over the next two weeks. I also get to explore NYC which has been on my wish list for some time!!
Food| I didn't write about any food last time so I'm back with the best thing I've eaten this month. Now I'm not a big fan of sweet deserts but this is one of the best I've had - Crispy Strawberry and Banana Cheesecake from IHOP.
Thank you| I would like to say a special thank you to all my friends for your constant support while I've been out here and for checking up on how I'm doing. It really does mean a lot so thank you very much.
Prayer| It's been a good time of learning more about God's character and my own so far and I want to keep learning and make the most of the time I have left with the kids this year. So please pray that the new year will bring a renewed passion and commitment to continue what I'm doing here and that I will be a good steward of my time. Thanks a bunch :)
Merry Christmas and Joyful New Year!
Lots of love
God Bless
Tess
