First Grade Common Core

This First Grade Common Core workbook has worksheets and assessments to cover every standard! It has over 550 pages of resources and all of the standards are at the bottom of each page. This is especially great for math resources since envision doesnt cover all of the common core standards. I can't wait to use this is my classroom!

Christian groups, Christian Friends, Christian trips...are we bringing light to the darkness?

I think I began to underestimate how powerful light is among the darkness. I preach about it, and I realize the emphasis it plays in the word but until this trip I haven’t seen it in action (by me) among my peers. On my trip to Botswana I was placed with 13 other people 3 professors, 6 teachers, and 4 students. I quickly realized how the devil uses so many things to advance the darkness in groups of people living together 24/7 for 5 weeks. It is easier to complain, tear others down, talk behind their backs, and look after yourself. It’s easier to invoke people to hate then to invoke then to love. But I also noticed how Gods light clearly disrupts the darkness, and how going against the “normal” way of dealing with things and at times just not saying anything is sometimes more powerful.

I think a lot of the time we want to stick with a “Christian” group of friends, a Christian organization to serve overseas or volunteer with, a Christian hang out place…when in reality God is calling us to shine His light in the darkness not to shine our light where the light is already shining bright. It’s NOT easy at all, but when did God EVER say it would be easy? I’m pretty he said “are you ready for this? Because, if you’re going to live for me, suffering is sure to come” The more Paul stepped out to make the gospel known the more he was persecuted. When are we going to step out of our box? When is Jesus going to be enough to sustain us and empower us? When is it not going to be about “saving” others but about shining Gods light and letting Him do the work at His time?

Going to Church in Botswana

As my professor put it, “ I have never been so entertained in church before.” We were blessed to see a youth service where the youth of the church ran the entire service. Two students even gave sermons! It was amazing to be apart of a community praising the Lord and teaching the truth of the gospel in a non-threatening way. The choir sang with the power of the Holy Spirit, there were dancers praising God with the gift God had given them, there was a testimony given as the “dj” broke out with a beat as we rose to our feet to welcome the person going up to the stage. The church was packed and Gods glory was shinning through

1st Botswana Church

            Then we went to see where David Livingston, who was a missionary in Botswana who introduced Christianity to the people. So we journeyed to see where he use to meet with people under the a huge tree and share the word with them, teach them to read and write, and would help them with their health (since he was also a doctor.) Then we went to where he planted his first church and where the first chief was baptized!

            This chief came to know Christ and was baptized but, people saw this as a betrayal to their culture. He was also the rainmaker and so when the rains didn’t come they became even hostile towards him becoming a Christian. He ended up coming back to his traditional ways because of the pressure he felt. When people who are native to Botswana talked about David Livingston they were not frustrated that he brought Christianity but they seemed irritated that he came with Christianity and tried to change the culture. Dr. Jotia (the professor taking us around.) He said that he feels closest to God when he can worship Him (God)  in his own language and in his own way. 

Botswana Day #3 Cave Paintings and three little children!

Today was another amazing adventure in Botswana. We woke up and went to see cave paintings that were drawn over 2000 years ago. They were drawn by the magic men who would give thanks to the gods for the animals that they had received to eat for the day. In the middle of our tour we were joined by some of the natives and by the end of the trip we were all taking pictures together and enjoying each other’s company.
After this we stopped by a huge tree with historical significance (see below) and I saw three kids standing outside their home. What did I do? I ran after them! I was so excited to chase them as they run screaming. Then I said dumela (hello) to the mother and the baby on her lap started crying. Finally, I felt like I was back in Sierra Leone!

Botswana Day #2: Seeing Botswana and the African Safari

We arrived in Botswana after 24 hours of traveling! By the time we got in it was already dark but by the looks of it, it seems similar to America, we will see tomorrow. We are living at the University of Botswana in a family style dorm with 6 bedrooms and a common living room. The next day we woke up and went on an a two hour African Safari. We went to the same place the our past presidents have been on and we ran into someone in the secret security (graduate of UCF) who was planning a trip for Michelle Obama who will be traveling to Botswana in the next 10 days. During the safari we saw wildebeests, giraffes, pumas, impalas and more… it was awesome!

I noticed that I don’t find a difference between America and here. I see certain parts of the culture that are similar to Sierra Leone, like statues, time, some clothing, some common phrases. But almost everything else is Americanized. How can the same continent be so different. Botswana is still considered a developing country but things seem to be going very well. After the Safari we went to the mall (which looked better then most of the malls near us), we walk into stores with air conditioning, there are cars high class cars everywhere, and I could shop for any and everything I could ever need in America but more cheap.

Day#2 and Im Already in Trouble

It’s amazing when you see the faith of a younger generation professing their faith and shining the light of Jesus to others! I was honored to witness this first hand with a group of girls (ages 12-17.) I sat outside as they passed me and said, “we’re going to go evangelize, want to come?” I jumped at the opportunity and followed as we walked 30 minutes to a small village through the forest. The girls decided that they would surprise a family there by making dinner for them so as soon as they reached the village they worked together to cook a meal for the family. Then they walked around the village to talk with people and invite them to join us in bible study. Everyone piled on benches in the middle of the village. I had to hide because there was a baby who would cry every time he saw my face (think about how scared you would be seeing a person who was a different color then you had ever seen.) Then the girls led worship, and gave a sermon, had a memory verse, and in the end prayed over all of the people. Praise God for these women of faith and their devotion to the Lord. They do this every Wednesday. They go into villages, make relationships, and share the gospel BOLDLY! …we went “flow flow” (fast) home because it was getting dark…and I arrived home like a child who knew she had done something that probably disappointed her parents. Uncle Magnus (who was in charge of our team) was waiting for me. Lets just say I was on strict orders for the rest of the trip to tell him if I went anywhere! J