I was reminded of this one particular day during West Philly '06 Inner-City Missions today for some reason. It was one of the Saturdays (Sundays? Dang, I don't remember...) where our team did laundry, cleaned the house, grocery shopped, lesson planned, rested up for the upcoming week with our kids, etc. This one day it was POURING rain -- like literally raining as if it was monsoon season. I remember the team members and I sat outside on the porch, and we just all watched the huge droplets of rain.. listening to the relaxing rhythmic beats as they hit the ground. Then we got this insane idea to play Rock, Paper, Scissors & the losers had to actually run out in the rain, go across the street, touch a parked car, and run back. Needless to say, we all got SOAKED!

Anyway, there really isn't a point to the story.. but after we all played and the rain ceased, some of us sat on the steps in front of the house, sang praise songs, and simply worshiped. It was beautiful

This was one of the songs: "All Who Are Thirsty."

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I recently finished reading the book The Essential Conversation: What Parents and Teachers Can Learn From Each Other (a secular book). Excellent read, I must say. There was an excerpt in the last chapter that I particularly loved:

In addition to Mrs. Thomas creating a "familial" tone in her classroom, she was also openly expressive about her Southern black religious roots. "She was a deeply religious person," recalls Claudia. "She treated Laura as if she was a special gift from God." Claudia pauses for a moment and corrects herself. It was not just Laura who was the focus of her advocacy, prayers, and grace. "This was true about her relationship to all children. She saw God in every child." And although Claudia does not think of herself as a "believer," she too was reassured by Mrs. Thomas's faith and "was drawn into her beautiful orbit." Sometimes when Claudia seemed especially down or discouraged, Mrs. Thomas would suggest that reading the Scriptures might offer her some comfort. Remembering the way Mrs. Thomas ministered to the whole family, Claudia lets the tears fall. "She was like this angel sent to us to protect us...a mother angel."

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I can't believe it's the last day of February. Time is flyyyyyying by! Spring Break is in ONE WEEK -- Florida here we come (again)

As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man. - Proverbs 27:19 

Romans 12:9-21

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary:
   "If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
      if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
   In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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Encouraged, reminded, rebuked...

Beauty in ashes

As mentioned in a previous entry, I'll be student teaching in Philadelphia! At the time, I was waiting on acceptance to a special program Penn State is trying to implement into their student teaching program for the inner-city of Kensington in North Philly. Well, lo and behold.. I got it! There are 4 teacher cohorts in total, and we're all very excited  (One of the perks is that we get MacBooks for the entire year!!!)

So my student teaching site for Fall 2008 is the Isaac Sheppard Elementary School, which serves grades K-4. I actually got to drive past it during the end of Winter Break while I was in Philly. Hmm.. and let's just say that it's a very impoverished, seemingly dangerous area. The below picture is off of the school's website, and it honestly makes the school look better than it really is. There's no playground, no real front or back area to play in general, and all the windows are barred.

Sheppard School is a neighborhood school with an annex that houses four Kindergarten classes. 430 students are served by 31 staff members many of who have been at Sheppard for over twenty years. Sheppard has 94% Latino students that is the largest percentage of Latino students attending any of the school district's school. The remaining students are 5% African American and 1% White. The school's poverty level is approximately 98%, which entitles the school to Title I and III federal funds to support the school programs.

Yes, it's North Philly.. quite possibly one of the most dangerous places on the East Coast (haha, I don't know), but I'm really, really excited. I know I only got a taste of the inner-city and the children while I was on missions in West Philly, but I really do have a heart for them and a passion to teach them.

This semester (my last semester at Penn State!), some of my block classes include learning how to teach elementary school science, social studies, and mathematics. With the block, I stick with the same people all semester.. so 19 other teachers in training. As I sat in Science this morning, I realized it's like getting ready for the mission field! We're all going to be toiling and struggling through the semester with our school work load consisting of many lesson plans, papers, teacher/teaching philosophies, and portfolios.. but at the end of it, we're all going to be sent out to our respective schools! How exciting is that!! If only we were ALL Christians.. that'd be so amazing. But in that sense, I feel very privileged to be a Christian in this field because I'll be impacting my students (hopefully) in many powerful ways. Like China, I won't be able to freely share the Gospel.. but my prayer and hope is that my words, thoughts, and deeds will deliver the message of Christ in their own ways :]

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In other news, a lot has been going on in my life since I last updated. I won't go into too much detail.. but let's see.. being home for Winter Break for 2 weeks was interesting to say the least. OIL was powerful.. not as "intense" as when I went during my sophomore year, but it went perfectly with where I was at spiritually. My small group (33 MAFIAAAAA) rocked :D And God revealed to me much about my sinfulness and grace. I moved into a new apartment and am now living with Laura Yi -- it's been great so far! Our living styles surprisingly go well together, and it's a plus that we're the same year and have things in common to talk about. And I must also mention that she is an awesome cook, so I'll be eating lots of yummy things throughout the semester

These verses stood out to me this morning during my QT for various reasons from Proverbs 24:
3 By wisdom a house is built,
       and through understanding it is established;

4 through knowledge its rooms are filled
       with rare and beautiful treasures.

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Urgent prayer request: http://www.xanga.com/jeyell.

[edit #2] I bought my plane tickets for home last night!!! I'll be in ATL from Dec. 19th to Jan. 2nd

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This could've totally been me...

I went to pick up one of my family group kiddies from the airport and pulled out onto Fox Hollow Road AT THE EXACT SAME TIME!!! [edit] Actually, nevermind.. I went on Monday night. Haha. It's still sad though.

Student killed in vehicle accident