The Little Drummer Boy

I've been feeling guilty about my lapse in  blog writing this year, especially since I arrived in Japan, so rather than sharing a lengthy facebook update, I thought I'd write it all down here. It has been a very busy 2nd semester in Yochien (kindergarten 3-4 yr olds). It seems like we hit the ground running on September 1st after summer break and we haven't slowed down since!

We are in the throws of our harvest/fall/pumpkins theme, as well as preparation for the school Christmas program. With that in mind, I thought I'd give you a little mental snap shot of my morning today. (sorry, no actual snap shot, I'll try to add one soon)

Scene: the first 30-45 minutes of the day is free-choice play for my students. The go-to activities are puzzles, and whatever large group oriented play can be had on the carpet. Lately, it's been floor puzzles completing for space with the interlocking train tracks & station. Since we are talking about farms and harvest (more specifically The Enormous Turnip) I switched out the trains & tracks with a big red barn that opens up, and a variety for farm animals and farmer figurines. I ask if anyone wants to listen to music on our new-to-us ipod speaker. I get one request for Christmas music and one for the "Pa rum pa pum pum song", which I am happy to oblige. After a week of practice for the Christmas program, this is the only part of the song any one readily remembers. The merry music begins to play and the noise level begins to rise and more students arrive and join in the activities. At one point the music background to a lively conversation between the plastic Jesus figure (we've been talking about the story of the Good Shepherd) and a grey-haired, farmer-ish looking fellow on the roof of the barn. I have no idea what the topic of discussion is, since everyone is speaking in Japanese... The animated conversation between plastic Jesus and Mr. Farmer continues until the song playing reaches the familiar point in the chorus, and the child sitting alone at the puzzle table begins sing along,"Pa rum pa pum...PUM!!" He exclaims at the top of his lungs with fist raised in the air. The room falls silent.

End scene.

Not Your Average Palm Sunday in Japan

It's me again! I'm still alive and quite well, just on the other side of the world these days, in Ikeda, Osaka, Japan.

Someday, I might rewind to the topic of leaving Haiti, but for now I will give you a glimpse into my new adventures. Tis the season for cherry blossoms, immaculately trimmed topiaries and trees, and a myriad of breathtakingly beautiful flowers in every shape and size on my everyday walk to school and church (same building).

Just one of the beautiful sights I pass every day

Passover & Easter season are upon us as well, but it is less obvious here, as there are no Hallmark campaigns, or sales on egg-dying kits, or marshmallow Peeps (so sad! :( ) to be seen. Less that 1% of the population in Japan are Christians. It's a REALLY big deal to make a decision to follow Christ in a culture that has been steeped in Buddhist and Shinto practices for hundreds of years. 

When I think of a typical Palm Sunday service, there are few pictures that come to mind: waving palm fronds, singing a few "Hosanna" choruses, revisiting the events of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, special music... Even in more spontaneous churches (of which I am very familiar) the look of a Palm Sunday service can be a bit "routine". 

Not so, in Japan! The "triumphal entry" at Church of Praise International on Sunday was blue tarp covering the carpet, leading to a styrofoam baptismal at the back of the sanctuary. Service started with the baptism of a new believer, who recently finished a discipleship course at the church. This was not the end of  His celebrations on this day. We'll pick up the rest of his story in a moment.

Baptism was followed by worship, then presentation of certificates for the graduates of the apostolic/prophetic training program, then communion, then sending out a family that is moving to a different prefecture (state), then sermon, and finally finished with a wedding. Yep, you read that right! Talk about a 1-stop shop! 

Back to the guy who was baptized at the beginning of service... His wife accepted Christ a few weeks before their wedding in a Shinto temple. In addition to making a public declaration of faith in Christ by being baptized, he and his bride wanted to renew their wedding vows before God in the presence of their new church family. It was such a precious sight! And what an amazing testimony they have now! It was an honor to be a part of their celebration. It became OUR celebration. 

New life, new beginnings, new journeys, new families, destiny fulfilled: it's what Palm Sunday is really all about. 

Look How Far We've Come!

In an effort to collect my thoughts and attempt to get back into the habit of blogging, I was reflecting back to this post, exactly one year ago today. I am amazed at how much has changed, how the kids have grown, the abundant provision of resources we have to work with (thanks to the incredibly generous people in my life), and how the teachers have embraced it all and made it their own. 

The 2013-2014 school year started October 1st, on wonderfully peaceful note. Despite the absence of many children on the roster (who all showed up the 2nd week of school, which seems to be quite common in Haiti), it was a busy, yet oddly stress-free occasion. 

First Day - Modeling the new uniforms in front of the their house

I am continually learning the art of delegating and empowering, rather than trying to do it all myself, which is an incredibly freeing feeling. I gathered equal display materials for each classroom and handed the entire pile to the Haitian teachers with a few suggestions and let them put things wherever they saw fit. I'm so proud of the adorable, engaging learning environments they created...and they even went home the weekend before school started and created more of their own posters! 

My class (2-3 yr olds) - The "Barefoot Bears

The Pre-K (4 year old) class - Yet to be named

Kindergarten - The Sunshine Class

I am incredible honored and blessed to be able to provide professional development support and teacher resources to additional Haitian preschools in both Jacmel and Petionville. Fanel Leme, who works at the Hands and Feet Project, has seen his vision of starting preschool in a very poor community near Jacmel come alive this school year. All my little munchkins from the toddler house that I worked with in 2011 will be attending his school. I'm so proud of the hard work he has put into it, and excited to partner with him to help educate the next generation in Haiti. You can read more about Eagle Kindergarten in Jacmel here. 

Here are a few of my favorite moments from the first 2 weeks of school:

Djenica said she was building a church

Praise the Lord for Kindermats!

Painting "red" with crazy brushes

Crawling through the tunnel on the playground

Swinging with buddies on the new swing set

Everything is a telephone in dramatic play, even a banana!

The new Pre-K teacher, Margareth, showing them the right way to hold a hockey stick :)

Making circles and "O's" with our big curves and little curves from Handwriting Without Tears