And now it’s June...

Three months have gone by already? It’s not possible.  As usual, it’s been a whirlwind of activity.

Some major events have happened in these last few months. The first and most important would be my engagement at the end of March. Rafa proposed on the beach at Curacao and gave me the most beautiful ring ever. We have both been blown away by God’s blessing on our lives as neither of us thought that things would line up to get married this year. But God’s timing is perfect and He has provided all we needed. We are excited for our July wedding in Tobago and so happy that both our families will be able to celebrate there with us.

Second, the school received some bad news from the Ministry of Education that changed a lot at school. We had been using two buildings, one for elementary that was converted from a house and the other for secondary. Apparently the paperwork had never been completed to change the zoning to allow for a school and while you can often get away with that in Venezuela, they finally said that we could no longer hold classes there. We have known about this situation and been working to change the zoning and get everything up to code, but at this point, the government is unwilling to make the zoning change. So in April, we implemented plans to move the entire elementary into our high school space. I changed to a smaller classroom and was still able to fit in all my things. I actually really like the small space. We will still all be together in one building next school year but are hoping that with a change in government officials, we may be able to get the zoning change in the next year or two. Yet through all this, God has been faithful and taken great care of us. So many parents and students stepped up to help with the move and showed their support for the school. It has helped unify us as one school body and allowed us to rethink how we do things as a school.

The last month has been filled with the usual in addition to helping our students adjust to all the change, listening to lots of student complaints, and of course, planning the wedding (which really means just sending my Mom a bunch of ideas and then she works the magic of making it happen). We are currently in our last week of school, which for high schoolers means finals. My students are in the middle of one as I write this. I continue to tutor two students after school and last week got to help one begin looking for colleges and how to set up a college visit. Rafa and I are over halfway through premarital counseling and are really enjoying it. English club continues to go well. Last week we had a goodbye party for Kayla as she finishes up her time in Venezuela and heads back to the US. It will continue through June as students are still in classes here. Rafa and I are still in the praise team at church. The music director’s wife had a baby on Saturday, which means he’ll be absent from his position. In addition to others, I am stepping up to fill in the gap, leading rehearsals and helping with the voices and music. My carpal tunnel continues to bother me at times, especially when I play the piano so please be praying for that. School has been full of activities: spring concerts, high school banquet, tons of meetings both with staff and parents, and science fair. This week is graduation and I will be helping out with piano, playing the graduation march and a special. So I think you get the idea…busy busy busy.

This summer I will be staying in Caracas to tutor and work on moving into our apartment. I will actually be tutoring 5-8 hours a day, depending on the week, which I am excited about and hoping it isn’t too much to handle. Rafa and I are anxious to get into the apartment and start painting and moving our things in but have to wait another two weeks for the family currently there to head back to the States. The school is allowing us to move into their housing, which is an incredible blessing. The small apartment is located in the elementary building, which they’re currently using for music and office space but will be converting part into an additional apartment for a family coming next year to teach. However, we do have to provide some of our own things which will bring additional expenses. We are able to borrow bedroom furniture from Rafa’s brother and wife, who are headed to the States for a year to raise support. We need to purchase a refrigerator and possibly a sofa. We are also saving money with the hope of coming to Ohio during December so you all can finally meet Rafa. I have been bringing over house items for the past year thankfully so there is a lot we already do have. I am so excited to finally have my own space and get to share it with my best friend.

I don’t have my camera on me today to post pictures but I’ll add another post in the next few days with some pictures of the last few months.