Torquay... Some lessons

Lesson 1:

When eating Fish n Chips by the sea, be careful of the seagulls. They like the fish just as much as humans. Moving to a location with other people around is the best option.

Lesson 2:

Those rock looking things in my picture are not just rocks, some of them are lipits (muscle type creatures). They appear to be clever because every time I went to pick one up, it sucked with all its might to the rock. They would not budge. I later learned that these creatures aren't clever at all and don't even have a brain or any organs for that matter.

Trying to move a lipit to see what they look like

We found one in some water.

A hermit crab.

several barnacles. They're minscule cratures that just look like a hole.

Beach houses

 Lesson #3:
Devon makes delicious cream teas that can be enjoyed with the lovely view of the sea. (Sorry it's hard to see in this picture.)

Devon Creamed Tea: Scones, clotted cream, jam, strawberries and champagne. Lush!

Holiday in Spain - Immense

Hola!

I had a great opportunity to go on a holiday to Spain with a Christian tour company called Oak Hall. What an incredible, life-changing experience. To me, the word of the week was Immense. Let me attempt to explain my thoughts...

God's love is immense.

The Bible talk through the week was on parts of Revelations. We talked about the majesty and splendor of the Glory of God.  I was reminded that when we trust Jesus, we have access to the very majestic presence of God - this God who is in control, whose power and love is everything!
I was also amazed at how so many of us came on this trip on our own and yet we connected so well with one another. I never felt alone and am blessed to have made some great friends on this trip - brothers and sisters in Christ. 

God's beauty is immense.

The Sea...
Having the Mediterranean Sea within 100 metres of our hotel was great. I spent lots of time just standing where the sand and the sea meet - standing in awe. The sea was bright blue and clear, and each grain of salt was distinct. At night the sea was dark and almost forbidden, the waves crashing again the shore was a sharp, yet welcoming sound. The sight of the lighthouse on the cliff was breathtaking. The light shining two flashes, three flashes as it swept around... a remarkable symbol of God's love, protection and guidance. At that moment, I so wished dad could have been with me to experience that, to see a real lighthouse. I do desire to be a lighthouse to others and to reflect and shine God's love through me to people I meet.

The Mountains...
On one of our outing days, we went to Monserrat - a mountain range with old monasteries and basilicas. The rocks forming the mountain peaks were smooth stone almost resembling people and faces. They were quite stark and rigid, especially the higher you climbed. Two of my friends and I decided to take the Funicular up the mountain and to climb down. On the way down, we passed a small church which was locked and gated, but you could peek inside. E went to the gate and just started singing. The sound radiated and sounded like a choir of angels with the immense acoustics. We continued on our journey and came to a cliff where the view was again breathtaking. We took some lovely snap shots and sat for a moment to reflect. It's uncomprehendable that we only saw a tiny portion of Monserrat, which in the scheme of the rest of the world and the universe is just a gran of salt. I wonder how glorious heaven will be... it will be beyond description, a place where God will be, where we can see his face. How awesome is that!

A window... the unknown

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121

The Basilica de la Sacrada Familia...
How do I start to describe this cathedral? Let me start by talking about Gaudi, the designer. This building was started over 200 years ago with hopes that it will be finished in the next 10 years. Gaudi designed it knowing that he wouldn't see the end product. When asked how he felt by that, his response, "It's all in God's timing." How true is that! So the building... from the outside, it looked like any ordinary tall building with construction work. But on closer examination, you could see sculptures of Jesus' birth on one side and his death and resurrection on the other. The sculptures were so intricate and lovely. The door at the entrance had the words, "our daily bread..." in several languages. When I entered, my breath was taken away.

I began to look and saw marble. It was simple, yet absolutely beautiful. The light shining through the stain glass was beautiful, the marble structures formed tall trees and what struck me was that it was all focused on Jesus and God's love. My descriptions, nor my pictures do it justice.

 

Awesome... Breathtaking.... Immense

So that's just a brief recap of my holiday in Spain. I am so amazed with just how awesome that holiday was. It was a perfect reminder that I am never alone. That God has things in control and that he is so majestic. 

Blessings to you all. May you believe in God's immense love and beauty. Just a thought... you are each God's beautiful works! 

Kristen

My Last Days at The Academy

So this post is once again delayed. I apologize. I will start with my last days at The Academy.

My contract was coming to an end and so my last week was filled with making sure my classroom and books were ready for the person who was going to take over my post and that I said proper goodbyes to my students and to the staff.

I was overwhelmed with the number of staff that came to my farewell party. It was great to see many of my colleagues that I learned so much from as my first year teaching all around one giant table. I felt extremely blessed for the relationships I created at the school. I will cherish their cards that they gave me and their life lessons they shared.

My students even caught me by surprise. The morning of my last day, they all told me to stay away from my class during lunch. I didn't know what this was all about but I was ensured by a colleague that everything would be okay. So I enjoyed my last lunch in the staff room. When I returned to my classroom, I was shocked. My students were hiding and surprised me when I opened the door. They had banners on the wall and lovely messages on the white board saying that they didn't want me to leave and that they were sorry for how they had treated me. Funny how when I am leaving, that's when they decide to be nice to me. Ah well, I suppose in many ways, that's teenagers for you. I just have to trust that I touched some of my students and helped to teach them some valuable life lessons (not just Maths).

While I was sad to leave my school that I became so familiar with, I am ready to start somewhere new, somewhere that will fit my dreams and inspirations, somewhere where I can be myself more and inspire students to want to learn. 

Farewell, TAS!