He's the God of the Beka Valley, He's the Lord of LES, He made the Cedar Mountains, His Glory's Everywhere

The final weeks before Easter, managed to fly by. Autism Awareness Day is 2nd April but because of strikes in the country they moved all the activities planned to Friday incase we had Wednesday off, we didn't though. The whole school wore blue and it was cool to see the kids understanding that God made us all different.

me posing with some of the nursery boys :)

The 'circus' also came that day and put on a show for the whole infant department. There were magic tricks, acrobats, and a trained dog. At the end, I was volunteered to put on a bunny suit and go up on stage with Pooh. I had never worn one of those outfits before and I have to give a lot of credit to people who wear them a lot - they're super hot!! I was dreading to see the pictures taken because I felt like a complete idiot but some of them weren't too bad!

Because I did such a great job (not really...), they managed to get me dressed up again when they celebrated Palm Sunday and walked the kids over to Dr. Whites office waving olive branches. I was Donald Duck this time and it was nicer being outside with the breezy air.

The last week and a half of school was full of goodbyes and fitting in last minute things like going to see chapels for other age groups. I got a picture of me with each class I taught and each time felt like I was going to choke and suffocate because of how close they squeezed in next to me! Here's just one funny picture:

I also had to say bye to the Syrian kids from the centre. They were so funny and saying things like 'No America!!' I'm going to miss them a lot.

After the church service on Sunday at the Arabic church, we went into Bourj Hammoud to get fruit drinks and we saw several processions for Palm Sunday.







 

It's a traditional Lebanese thing to do on Palm Sunday.

We went to a juice shop and got chocolate and avocado ones. They were very good! They spread nutella around the cup and then pour avocado juice in the middle. It was nice and filling. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

In other news, early on Monday 14th April, Cillian James was born into the Dieter family! The delivery was quick and went well. Naomi sure is glad it's all over and they have a lovely wee bundle of joy in their house. He is very cute!

 

 

It was great to have the cooking class the last three Saturdays so that I didn't have to worry much about buying food and using up as much as I could before I left. We made falafel - with topping arranged beautifully on plates (we had to take a video of Nazira, our friend, making it so we could remember everything!), sayadiye (a white fish dish with rice and a sauce called tarator), and batata purée (mashed potatoes layered with meat and breadcrumbs on top). It was all super yummy, as usual.

We ended school on a Wednesday so I had just under a week to fit in everything I had wanted to do but hadn't yet - that didn't quite happen... But it gives a good excuse to go back! :)

On Thursday, four of us girls from school went to the Tyr beach. We took the very reliable/timely buses (not) and managed to get there in about two hours. It was a beautiful day. We explored the souks, ate lunch and headed over to the long sandy beach. It was so relaxing and fun.

We met lots of interesting people and had great banter. On Saturday, Amandine, Tolu, and I went out for coffee to Starbucks and later on I went to an evening service for Holy Week at Amandine's church. There originally wasn't going to be a translation in English but I'm so glad there was because the sermon/talk was very good. The man (who apparently used to be a troublemaker as a kid in the church - not sure if that reduces his credibility...) talked about having an empty life or an empty tomb. We either accept the empty tomb because Jesus has risen and reigns as our Lord or we have an empty life without him.

Church on Sunday at All Saints was packed and there was a good song list, including the great 'See What a Morning'. I was a bit more awake this Easter with no Sunrise Service like at home! That evening, I did some debriefing with Naomi and a bunch of us volunteers got together for a movie and ice cream (AND some banging guacamole!). It was loads of fun to hang out and eat junk food. Felt like an old granny being so tired at 11pm...

On Monday, I realised I maybe could have done some packing a bit earlier. I went to the mall - for coffee with half of the Dieter's and to buy some last minute things and souvenirs (Duncan, if you actually read this, you're included.).

Eoin was not impressed

That night, the principal and his wife brought me out to dinner with any of the other volunteers who wanted to come too! It was so nice!!! And in true Lebanese style, we ate more food than we could handle. Apparently, I disappointed them because the guest of honour is supposed to eat the most... I tried!











Huge mannoushe/pizza thing

This was only the beginning. The very beginning

After the meal, I had my first experience of a DVD shop over there. Let's just say, there would not be any like those in the States... My flatmate's fiancée helped me buy baklava as well (well, he did it for me...). Saying bye to people was very sad. :(
The next morning, after some serious stress and frustration with suitcases (but with the wonderful help of God, Elise, Naomi, and Tolu), I got in the car and headed to the airport.
I was SO nervous about going through the Beirut airport by myself and that my bags were an okay weight and that they could be sent all the way through. I had to wait for about 20 minutes for my flight to show up on their little screens just to find out if I was supposed to go to the east or west security/customs check. I got through everything easily and was so thankful that pray worked.
I made the decision about a month ago to go to Glasgow on the way home for a week. So far, I think it has been really beneficial in the sense that it has broken up my time spent on planes (I was so done with flying when I finally got to Glasgow.), it's nice to see how the church is getting on from when I was there last and to catch up with friends! My friend, Hannah, is getting baptised on Sunday, so that is super exciting! Please pray that:
I will continue to adjust to the culture,
I will be able to apply what I have learned (I've become a lot more emotional and moody from traveling, which I'm trying to overcome),
the rest of my time in cold and rainy Scotland will go well and be a blessing to others and God,
Hannah's baptism will go smoothly and be a light to her family and friends who come,
the other FirstServe girls are getting on well - Katie and Aline are home, Rachel has just returned home, and Yas has a little bit longer in India.
I can't believe this experience is over. Hopefully, it will have a lasting impact but it will be so different going back to normal life. Thanks to ALL of you for support, prayers, and more! I couldn't have left Philly without knowing people were behind me and many more in front of me who I hadn't met yet! XOXO

 

My days [here] are numbered

Finally, experienced true Lebanese culture at the hair salon! It was so relaxing and the whole staff make you feel pampered. :) Have to say, I was a little nervous having a man cut my hair, especially when the first thing he says is, 'Want a cut like mine?' (refer to picture below to see his hair) It was really fun, though, reasonably priced, and interesting to see where these women go to keep their hair so fabulous!

Had to capture our perfectly styled hair!

Since Teacher's Day, I have been to an Arabic church - twice; had busy days in school preparing for the Mother's Day performances (Mother's Day here is the 21st March);

Nursery Classes

There were no pictures with all the LKG classes so here is a picture of each class separately:

 

 

UKG Classes

Blowing up/playing with balloons for the "Tea and Treats for Mothers" event

 

Posing in front of one of the bulletin boards :)

 

All the junior teachers after school

made hummus, baba ganoush, cheese rolls, and a salad on one Saturday,

 

 

kibbeh and lentil soup the next week,

and then mloukhia (a spinach-like vegetable) with chicken and rice yesterday (all super yummy!!);

and also tried an avocado juice drink!

Last week, we had a long weekend with Monday and Tuesday off school. So the Dieters kindly brought me on a trip to the Cedars! It was so pretty and the kids were excited to see some snow (there was very little but they were happy - if only they were in PA this winter, they'd be sick of snow!!). The drive up there was even very pretty:



Snow!

And the Cedar trees were picturesque:

Carving

 

Let me translate... Just kidding, I don't know

 

Wee monkeys eating their snacks!

After some yummy snacks, hot chocolate, and brownies; we decided we hit up some geocaches in the area before heading home. Seems pretty harmless, right? Just wait...

On our way to the first geocache, we passed by the Baatara Gorge Waterfall and I'm so glad we stopped so I could see it because it's amazing!!!

God felt like being creative

Unfortunately, I wasn't wearing the best shoes so I didn't want to go cross that top bridge - but I wish I did. (That's right, mother. And you'll be right behind me!)

We reached one of the geocaches and it was so gorgeous, definitely somewhere you wouldn't just stumble upon.

What we took from the cache

We then searched for the other cache and the GPS was bringing us on little random roads. We finally just gave up and started to drive back the way we came. We had gone down  a hill that was muddy with water streaming down from the snow. After several attempts, we gunned it up most of the hill but with a little bit left to go, the car was not moving. Naomi (the VERY pregnant Naomi) and I got out to push. After several strategies, about an hour, and giving ourselves a mud bath; we reached dry land again and couldn't have been happier. Ate outside at Burger King on the way home to not draw attention to our state!

 

I hear it's the new style. Or maybe I could start a trend...

Leaving here is becoming more and more real in my mind. Trying to prepare, but that results in no food in the house and having weird nightmares. Please pray for my last two and a half weeks in school and that I'll be able to make the most of those days. Also, that I will be less lazy after school and actually workout so that I won't have to take two seats on the plane. ;) Thanks for following my journey, it means a lot. Lots of love xox