India

India. How do I turn a two-week, life-changing experience into a single blog post? First, I think that it would good for you to have some idea of our schedule.

9:00 10:15-12:15 1:00 2:00-5:00 6:00-7:30ish 8:00ish 9:00ish

Breakfast Teaching students (During the two weeks, I taught English to students grade or standard 3-9) Lunch Two different teacher-training sessions (The first one was department specific and the second was the whole group) Devotions with the hostel children – those who live at the school Dinner Team meeting

Since I can’t fit two whole weeks into a blog post I will just list the top five highlights.

1.  Our team. Even though we came from five different schools in five different cities, we really clicked. We worked well together and were able to collaborate on the teacher trainings. I feel like I was stretched and grew as a teacher because I was able to work with these other teachers and bounce ideas off of them. I also think that I have formed friendships that will last despite living far away from each other.
2.  Being stretched to break out of my normal comfort zone. I was stretched in multiple ways on this trip. First of all, I taught students grades 3-9. I have never taught below seventh grade aside from a summer camp type setting. It was fun to prepare lessons and think about teaching from a different perspective. I also had several experienced elementary teachers who helped me in preparing and editing my lessons.
3.  A break from technology. The classroom had electricity most of the time but certainly did not have projectors and computers, so we pretty much depended on a black board and chalk, and in fact, it was wonderful. Sometimes we are so dependent on technology that it gets in the way of good teaching. I think this aspect of the trip challenged me to try to have more technology-free lessons. We also only had limited access to the internet, which was nice. I often get so caught up with facebook, skype, and movies that I forget to invest in the people who are right next to me. It was nice to not have that distraction on the trip.
4.  Spending time at a community center. We had one day off because it was a Hindu holiday. That day we went to two different poor communities and did some songs and skits at their community centers. It was really cool to see the different types of ministries that were going on, and it was fun to play with the kids. I was very encouraged by all that was being done to holistically transform a community.
5.  Getting to know the hostel girls. Each night we had devotions with the hostel girls and we created small groups so that we could discuss the devotion after it had been presented. This was a great time to get to know the girls and to speak truth into their lives.