Turning the page...

Well, now it's officially 2015 2016! Which means saying goodbye to a lot of good things, but also welcoming many others.

While I still have about a month left before I fly out on February 4, that hasn't kept me from thinking more and more about that day.

I am enjoying a life here stateside even though I'm very busy. Socializing with friends and enjoying time with family has kept me very occupied. And I was able to come home and plug right in at work as well, thanks to a mission-minded boss. I feel really blessed to have a job like that.

Meet my family. We're a little, eh, loopy sometimes...

Supper time!

Even though it hasn't been really cold yet, we were still able to
ice skating at a local rink. It was great fun!

Settler's game in session at a youth group party.

We spent a day at one of our friends who took us out back to shoot claybirds.

I won!

The trees had too many extremities so we lopped some
of them off one Saturday.

Beanie/sock exchange at a Christmas social for our youth group.

As February creeps up on me, I keep thinking about all the people at the deaf school and when I'll be able to see them again. Looking at old pictures on my computer doesn't help matters as far as that goes! :)

CICS is going to be very different this year. We will be missing Matthias, Lidia, and Melody this year who will be replaced by new workers. Their experience in working with the deaf will be missed, but I'm confident the new staff will do well.

Since Matthias will no longer be there, I will have assume most of his responsibilities this year, including teaching the oldest class and leading out more among us staff. It's a little frightening, to be perfectly honest. But focusing only on one day at a time and trusting God to take care of me takes care of a lot of that.

I don't know the names of who all I will be teaching yet, or who all the students will be, but pray for the deaf children as the time comes closer to return to school. Pray that they would come to school ready to learn all they can!

And I guess you could pray the same thing for us staff. Pray that we too would be ready to learn, both from God and from each other. In that way we will be able to work together as a team for the furthering of His kingdom!

And just for old time's sake...