GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!

                                                    

We’ve been hearing that a lot lately.  We fortunately can usually pick up the games by a slightly delayed stream on our computer.  We’re reminded it is slightly delayed anytime there is a goal, we can hear all the neighbors (including the bar up the street) yelling GOOOOOOOOOOOOOL! Moments before we actually see it, kind of a nice heads up if  you’re not paying attention.☺

Capitalizing on this excitement, Mike has decided to set up a little mini world cup of his own at school, which has brought much enthusiasm to recess time as well as many opportunities to teach about good sportsmanship and teamwork!  Evan & Kai were on the same team and won the primary division, & Mackenzie did a great job on her all girls team.

I’m beginning my mid-year student evaluations of my Kindergartners and couldn’t be more proud of the growth they have shown.  It is really exciting and very rewarding to see all of their growth, but especially that of my three students with special needs.  Special Education, IPEs, etc. do not exist here and most children with special needs are not even allowed to attend school.  So I am so thankful I have the opportunity to give these students the chance they deserve to learn and grow like any other child.

We are looking forward to our ‘Winter Break’ coming up in a few weeks (your July 4th weekend!), we’re especially excited we get to see Grandma & Grandpa Mueller & Mike’s brother Mark!  We have to leave the country to renew our visa, so we will be taking the bus down to Costa Rica and meeting up with the Mueller family there.  They’ll also be bringing us some much needed food and vitamin staples from Costco & Trader Joe’s, Yay!  (Keeping up with the boys’ food allergies, means stocking up on Gluten, Dairy, Soy & Potato Free foods!)

On a not so happy note we've decided we need to sell our vehicle and  try to find a more reliable one.  Of course, first that means making the necessary repairs to our current car so we can sell it and still afford to buy another one!  Buying cars is always a gamble here because people just do not maintain them, & the roads here are very hard on cars.  We are hoping that we’ll find a car that has been well maintained by a single owner this time around.

We're happy to say we're working on plans to try and stay a second year!  Mike will apply for a second leave of absence as soon as he is able, & we will begin fundraising for next year as well.  We're are so thankful for all the support we have received from so many generous people, and we thank those of you who have already let us know you will continue your support next year!  If you would be interested in donating again or continuing your pledge another year we'd love to hear from you.   We’re very excited that we will come home for our summer break in December & January, this will be a great opportunity to share our experiences with many of you, answer questions, and catch up with friends and family.  (The kids are already looking forward to lots of sleep overs!)

Happy Summer to you all!  Enjoy the sunshine, we’ll be enjoying the rain!

Amoebas Are Not Our Friends

Hi Everyone,

This has been a humbling month, with illness, car troubles (again), some financial issues, and needing to let our director know of our intentions to stay for a second year...Not the best time to be making such a huge decision, or is it?  While it is very difficult for us to think ahead to January already, we are at a good place to assess and evaluate our progress thus far, & basically...we're just getting started.  It is very hard to imagine that we will feel that we have accomplished everything we wanted to & serve in all the ways we hoped with the remaining six months of our school year.  It has taken us this long to really just begin to figure out what we're doing, & now we are at a point where we can begin reaching out more to our colleagues & hopefully share teaching ideas & strategies.  So!  We are hoping and praying that we will be able to stay for a second year, despite the kids' wails of "Noooo One year is long enough!."

This is of course dependent on several factors one, if we can raise enough funds, and two if Mike gets a second leave request granted from his school district.  We would love prayers for us during this process, as well as to know your thoughts!  If you would be interested in continuing your pledge for a second year, or consider matching your first donation please let us know.  The sooner we can have an idea of our fundraising, the sooner we can have a clear idea of what next year will bring.  We're looking forward to peace in our hearts about this decision, and hopeful it will all work out.

We recently emailed a letter out to all of our supporters (if you didn't receive one, send us your email address!) checking in with them and giving them a more detailed update on where we're at with our progress at school and asking to know what is going on in their lives.   It has been so nice to receive responses from many of our friends & supporters from home.  It feels wonderful to be able to stay connected with you, hear how we can be supporting you with prayer, and to hear your encouraging words.  So please feel free to drop us an email & share what is going on with you!
 
On the Homefront:  We have been relatively fortunate thus far with good health, but that all changed a few weeks ago, when the entire family first either had food poisoning or the stomach flu followed by our not so friendly parasites living within us who decided to make their presence known!  (Did I mention we didn't have water when the first wave of stomach 'events' happened?:)  But!  We Survived!  And are slowly but surely regaining our strength & are very thankful for everyone at our school who covered for us while we were gone.

On the Schoolfront:  Mike got his first taste of what teaching PE outside will be like during the rainy season (see video below).  We have two words to describe it LOUD & SLIPPERY!  He's still having fun teaching the students about new sports, the latest being Handball.  My Kindergartners are coming right along!  It is so exciting to see many of them beginning to Read!! Yay!  They're also little sponges when it comes to learning English (see video:).  The kids all just got great progress reports from their teachers with more than passing grades, & despite their protests of wanting to go home, they really are having a good time here.  They're picking up more Spanish by the day as well.  Last night Kai said, "Venga!" (Come here!) & Mackenzie & Evan were shocked & said, "Kai's speaking Spanish!" 

Despite the daily challenges of living here, we accept them as kind of just our new 'normal' & for all the challenges, we have just as many moments of joy & thanks.  We are thankful each and every day for this opportunity to serve, & don't want to waste a second of it.  We hope to continue to share with our kids as well as our students the importance of serving others, especially those less fortunate than we are.

Thank you for supporting us in this mission, whether it is with personal notes, prayers, financial gifts or sending us encouraging words, they all help!  We wish you all well as your school years are winding down, and summer is approaching!

Peace & Blessings to you All,
Love,
The Muellers

First Big Rain at School!

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Tortilla Ladies Drum Core!