A new job... new best friends...a new mission with Jesus

I did not expect this one.  On a sunny ordinary August day, I was working in the International Office.  After completing many of the international student applications, I decided to take a break by checking my e-mail.  Usually my e-mails contain the "excitement" of Campus Safety reminders and store sales that really don't save you any money.  However, there was one e-mail that caught my eye. It was an e-mail from my advisor.  It said...

Hi Hannah,

I hope you got everything worked out with residence life. I wanted to also let you know about this opportunity. I think you would be great at this, so I wanted you to be aware in case you are interested in applying. Safe travels!

With curiosity of what the job could be, I read the attachments and the forwarded e-mail sent to her from a Special Education professor. The job summary explained a new program on campus called Bethesda College. The job itself specifically entailed being a Resident Assistant of four ladies with intellectual and development disabilities on campus. At this moment I felt an answer to God's prayer. Let's back up to what that prayer was all about...

{ Each year, Residence Life is hiring RA's. I wanted to be an RA for various of reasons so I gave it a try and interviewed. A few days later, I found out I didn't get the job. I was crushed because I put all my hopes and thoughts into getting this job. Therefore, I prayed to God asking him to help me get the job.. I tried again...and a few days later, I found out again I did not get the job. I couldn't understand why God did not answer my prayer and I didn't want to focus on it too much so I decided to
 move on. }


After reading the whole e-mail, I said a quick prayer to God saying thanks for another unique shot of being an RA and guidance as I e-mail the Special Education Professor about the opportunity.  I e-mailed her expressing an interest in the job and literally minutes after, I heard back from her expressing the want to interview me that afternoon.  I managed to complete the interview during my lunch break.  When I arrived, I got a feeling of nervousness in my stomach.  I sat down and met two ladies.  One of the ladies was the Special Ed. Professor and the second lady was the Director of Bethesda College.  I can't explain how wonderful the conversation was with these two ladies because it was just pure wonderful!  I could tell God was right there beside me giving me the guidance in saying the right words.  I felt His ultimate presence.  After an hour of talking, she offered me the job and I said yes! I called everyone close to my heart and expressed the great news... 

From there on, my life changed. I am now a Residence Assistant who wears many hats that hold many responsibilities.  I'm a teacher, a best friend, facilitator, a mom at times, a counselor, and more. My life changed in all good ways and it was because of God.   He answered that prayer I said to Him a year and a half ago.  He just did it in His timing.  Therefore, I learned to never underestimate His power and plan.  

These four ladies and three men became my best friends.  We eat together, I get ready in the morning with the ladies (sometimes dancing to music or singing or talking about what the day is going to look like), we watch movies, we study together, we eat ice cream (sometimes way too much) and we are simply there for each other. 

I also couldn't ask to be part of a better family of staff.  My co-Resident Assistant is amazing. God blessed Bethesda College with a great male role model who has a caring heart.  All of the staff is supportive, loving, and committed. 

This semester taught me a lot regarding true patience, communication, flexibility, friendship, and simply what it looks like to be on a mission with Jesus.  This opportunity is not only just for me though.  It is an opportunity for these four ladies and three men to grow as independent successful individuals and experience a college life.  I can not be more happy to be friends with wonderful people!  

Now, I am on Christmas break... I wake up and miss everybody!  Sooner than we know it, we will be on the next adventure together.  (:  

Merry Christmas and Blessings to all!  

Hong Kong

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

{Jeremiah 29:11}

Hello my friends!


About 4 months ago, I received word that there was an opportunity to go teach ESL in Hong Kong from July 10-August 2.  After thought and prayer, I completed the application.  A week after I completed an application, I got confirmation that I was accepted to go to Hong Kong.

Since this trip was my first overseas trip, I was nervous for the plane ride.  However, I was all smiles about serving our Lord by sharing His love through ESL.  My friend Kyle was also determined to complete this mission.

After 14 hours on this plane, we landed safely on the ground in Hong Kong.  I am thankful that we arrived at 6:00 pm and not in the morning.  If we would of arrived in the morning, I would of been up for almost 30 hours! I'm so glad bedtime was so close in time.

When we arrived at the school, the team and I found out news that the camp we were leading was cancelled.  There were a few changes before the trip so we were prepared to be flexible.  However, I did not know that a camp could be cancelled last minute.  A Hong Kong Lutheran Synod worker who picked us up from the airport, gave us word that they had a plan.  It was true!  There was a plan.  The plan was for half the team to teach ESL to a  kindergarten class for 2 hours a day and the other half to join Concordia Nebraska University team to teach ESL in a primary class and high school.  It was interesting for us to hear that we would be only teaching 2 hours a day...."What else would we do with our day?"...."How can we help more?".   It was also sad to see the team in having to split up.

After a talk with the team, we decided for us to try to stay as a team as much as possible.  We did this by teaching kindergarten all together for the first week, splitting in half the second week to go teach with CUNE, and teaching kindergarten all together for the last week.  Yes, things did not go exactly as planned but they worked out because God had a plan.

• God had a plan when we broke the key to our room on the first night and sent a missionary.

• God had a plan when Kyle left his DSLR camera in the taxi.

• God had a plan when we got lost.

• God had a plan when I fell and hurt my ankle.

• God had a plan when we didn't know to teach on the first day.

• God had a plan when we got crabby or mad at each other.  

Even in the happy times, God had a plan.

• God had a plan to bring Andrew, Kyle, and Ben the opportunity to play soccer with boys in the community.

• God had a plan to have us meet wonderful inspiring people and missionaries of the church.  
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• God had a plan to bring laughter and smiles upon us with the kids.

• God had a plan for the guys to play soccer with the LCHS male soccer team and have the girls watch the game. 

• God had a plan for me to meet up with my international friends from CUW in Hong Kong.  

• God had a plan to create friendships with missionaries of our age.  

• God had a plan for me to find out that there was an all special education school in Hong Kong.  

• God had a plan for mine and Jessica's birthday.  

Every day, God had a plan for the team in Hong Kong.  Yet He still has a plan for every morning, afternoon, and night. Our Lord is watching over us! The only thing He asks for us to do is listen and follow not only on mission trips but everyday.


This trip was amazing and I do not regret choosing to go.  Back at the University, I lead a ministry called CHAT.  CHAT is where we connect international students with american students.   This trip definitely allowed me to experience what international students feel towards new food, a new environment, and being away from home.

God has a plan (:  

In Jesse's Shoes

For the entire summer, I am serving the Lord as I work at a Lutheran camp in Ilinois. One of the things I LOVE about this camp is that it is community oriented, meaning they accept everyone whether they have a disability or not. This past week I recieved the opportunity to work as a counselor for special needs camp. Over my college years I learned that one big thing to have in the special education area is patience with others and yourself. Through these past few weeks of training to be a counselor of special needs camp I have not only received the opportunity to put my patience into practice but I have learned new things including how to introduce special needs to others without special needs.  

Before camp started, the Counselors and I went trough 2 weeks of training. Jana, a deaconess who has been gifted with the ability to work with special needs, instructed us in sensitivity training for special needs camp. I absolutely considered this training a blessing because it prepare me with more knowledge to not only use as a counselor but also as a teacher. One of the things she shared in conversation is how to introduce special needs to other campers without special needs by reading the book In Jesse's shoes". 

I encourage all teachers to use this book at the beginning of the school year as it teaches kids how to appreciate those with special needs. 

We are all God's children no matter if we have a disability or not.   

Reading Corners

  The first semester of my sophomore year, I took the class Children's Literature where I learned more about the importance of Children's Literature and how to bring literature in a classroom. My children's Literature teacher emphasized several times that every early childhood and elementary classroom should have a reading corner.  It was said so many times that it was imprinted on my brain. By far, reading corners are beneficial and encouraging to young readers.

The question is, how do teachers create fun, encouraging, and beneficial reading corners?  

1. Before you start decorating, you need to have a good amount of books!! Ask around to see what books are popular(co-workers, parents, students, and librarians)  

Have all kinds of genres.  Sports, non-fiction, fiction, picture books, etc. My mom is a teacher and she has always told me to keep an eye out for caldecott award books. A great website that I learned about in children's literature is readingrockets
2. Organize all the books into genres and alphabetize them within the specific genre!  This will make it very easy for students to find what they are looking for.  

3. Grab a couple of shelves and paint them or be creative with them!  You can organize the books by selecting a shelf for each genre! 

4. Don't forget to make reading comfortable! Sitting in a hard chair and reading is not so much fun! Make the reading corner a comfortable area by placing bean bag chairs or homemade pillows for children to sit on.  Before finalizing your reading corner, don't forget to get a chair for yourself when reading aloud to the students. Here are a few ideas for seating that I have found from surfing the Internet.  

These are bandana pillows! I found them at http://www.twostorycottage.com/2011/05/where-we-play.html
Have parents bring in two bandanas for each child.  Then buy the filling for the pillows.  This will make the project very cheap. :)

Crate seats are also a wonderful idea for a reading corner!  Go here and find the directions on how to make one!  http://gingersnapstreatsforteachers.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-to-make-crate-seat.html

5. The final thing you want to do is to make the reading corner inspiring and engaging! Adding quotes on the wall will help inspire kids! 

I love this idea and give credit to the teacher of the blog http://missjacobslittlelearners.blogspot.com

Another thing you can do to make your reading corner engaging is creating it as a "getaway place".  All stories start somewhere so have your kids start their reading choices somewhere exciting!! You can do this by following the theme of a certain story. My favorite reading corner theme is a forest or a camping site! 

Create a camping theme by Using a tent! I found this idea at http://abcprimary.blogspot.com/2012/04/library

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I recommend checking out this teachers blog.

Yes, it is one tent.. I know.. You are probably 

Thinking oh kids will just fight over this tent.

If you go ahead and read her post about the tent, 

You will discover that there are ways around that

Problem! What she suggests is explaining very 

Clearly that there is one tent and all students 

Must share. She carries out this instruction by

Drawing two names out of a bucket everyday. 

These two students will have the privilege to 

read silently or outloud to each other inside the

tent for the whole school day.

Another prop you can use are fake trees or real plants. A couple months ago I did my general clinical hours in a 5th grade classroom and the teachers reading corner was jungle themed! The kids loved the  plants and trees within the reading corner!

I hope you enjoyed this post and are thinking of cool ideas for your own reading corner! :D Stay posted for more ideas and thoughts on education from a college student. 

I'm a college student on a Journey...

My journey of becoming a teacher is almost half way completed.  High emotions and stress were in the air as my classmates and I had finals week just last week.  Now that I am done with the semester I can enjoy the summer air and reflect on what I have learned and gathered from school. This year has been a journey of many lessons learned out of school and in school.  One lesson that I am consistently learning is the meaning of being a teacher and the affect teachers can have on their students.  

A couple of weeks ago, my developmental reading class watched a video. This video was incredible as it showed my classmates and I how just one teacher can have an impact on one student, many students, co-workers, and even the community. As you watch you will notice that Mrs. Arredondo is very young and has accomplished a lot in her young years.  She is an urban  school teacher who grew up in an unstable household. As a young girl, she became shaken because of the things she experienced but as she grew older, she battled through it and decided to become a role model to future kids that have gone through similar situations. One of her goals that I have gathered from this video is to build a better community within the Los Angeles area where kids will have the opportunity to receive a good and safe education with teachers that care! This goal was fulfilled when she opened San Fernando Institute for Applied Media, the first pilot school established in the Los Angeles Unified School District at the middle school level.  

This teacher is an excellent example for future and current teachers of how teachers can have a huge positive impact on their students. I may not be studying urban education but through elementary and special education I will develop the mission of providing my students with the proper education and the encouragement to keep learning through Christ. I have a passion to teach those with and without disabilities. I will not be shaken but to keep learning and gathering ideas through school and in the community with the strength of Christ he gives me! 

In this video, Mrs. Pierson shows that teachers are not perfect just like any other person.   Teachers do make mistakes. If you take the time to watch the whole video, you will hear Mrs. Pierson talk about how she taught a math lesson, went back to her desk after the lesson, and realized she taught the whole lesson wrong! The next day she apologized to her kids and re-taught the lesson! I am not promising that I will not make mistakes when teaching but will promise to try my best to prevent mistakes while teaching. 

Again, these two videos are incredible examples of great teachers! Let us build ourselves up as role models who have strong missions for our students and the community! Let us not be shaken. Let us have The Lord be the rock for our classrooms.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold". (Psalm 18:2 NIV)

So, here I am a Junior now in college fulfilling the gifts God has given me to be a teacher.  The journey is still continuing... 

What does being a teacher mean to you?