Basketball

I'm pretty excited about some of the non-teaching opportunities that have come up so far. One that took up a lot of time this weekend is being able to be an assistant coach for the boys basketball team. They had a tournament this weekend (4 games in two days), which was a lot of fun and created some loooong days. The boys finished second, losing out on first by just two points. It should be a fun season!

A week in the Bay Area

I'm Good news! 

I have my work visa. I'm totally official. 

Bad news... 

I had to miss a week and a half of school.

Good news! 

My mom came to hang out with me in San Francisco while I waited for paperwork. And she made sure I had lots of good food to eat 😀

Coit tower! 

Amazing cake!

Ice cream!

Food truck falafel!

A tiny taste of fall!

Then I got to hang out in Walnut Creek with my godparents. It was nice to get out into the brown open space and not be in a city for a while. 

Nancy took me to In n Out, even though she hates it!

We went to the beach in the clouds!

I love the ocean!

We saw whales out there!

Hiking is good for my soul!

Nancy bought me the best ever ice cream sandwich!

After hanging out for a while, I went back to the city to pick up my visa and head back. I had just enough time to explore a little more...

Golden Gate Bridge!

Really good cupcake!

Bad news...

It took me a little longer than anticipated to get back - one of my flights was canceled - but I eventually made it.

Good news!

Brasilia feels like home for now, which was confirmed while I was gone. It really is good to be back. 

Open house

This was supposed to post on August 27... Oops.

Yesterday was the first parent event of the year. Open house is a big deal around here. I only met a handful of parents, which was enough for me. I will likely not remember any of the parents that I met because it was in quick succession. 

On the bright side, we got t eat crepes! Apparently crepes are really big down here. Which may help to fill the waffle sized hole in my heart. 

The dinner set up was higher end than I would have expected for a school. Also, I'm not sure how clear it is, but there is an inflatable toy on that basketball court for the kids to play on. 

Supporting Kate

I have had a few people ask if I am raising support. I would love if you partnered with me while I'm on the mission field, whether through prayer or financially. 

If you plan to partner with my through prayer, check back here for updates, both serious and sometimes comical. 

If you plan to partner with me financially, there are a couple ways to do so. 

1. Online, for convenience 

-Go to www.nics.org/donate

-select frequency of donation

-under designation, click staff support

-in the staff name or project # box that pops up, enter Kathryn Maxwell, #003958

-fill out the rest of the form like any online purchase

2. Through the mail, like the good old days

-write a check to NICS/Oasis

-put #003958 on the memo line

-mail the check to 

    NICS/Oasis Finance Department 

    3790 Goodman Road E

    Southaven, MS 38672

-you will receive a donation confirmation receipt in the mail

3. Over the phone, because some petiole actually like talking to others

-call (662)892-4332 M-F 8-5 central time

-talk with Kim Ponder (she's great)

Regardless of a decision to support financially, I would love your continued prayer. I'm getting the hang of the teaching thing little by little, but please pray for opportunities to share Jesus with kids, not just history (though I can usually tie those together). Pray for open hearts and minds to receive the love of God.

A little update

The first week of school was a bit of a whirlwind. All of the things that I learned about teaching would come and go at different times in my head so sometimes it was fine and sometimes it wasn't so fine. But I'm definitely getting the hang of things. God is good and I believe he won't let me fail too badly. Just enough to rely on him more. 

This weekend was much more chill than last weekend. I hung out around the city a little and watched some Olympics on a screen instead of in person.

It rained once this week. Apparently it wasn't supposed to rain this early, but it happened. The sky was super interesting. 

I walk to and from school every day. Part of my walk is along busy roads. But part of it is on a cute little path:

This weekend I fly to San Francisco for some finalizing of my visa stuff. Prayers for that whole process would be much appreciated. So much red tape to get into this country...

Olympics

This weekend was probably once-in-a-lifetime...

First, I went to a soccer game here in Brasilia on Saturday. 

Germany beat Portugal 4-0.

Then yesterday, I went to Rio for the day with three other teachers to see some volleyball. 

We saw the Netherlands beat Serbia...

... And we saw South Korea beat Cameroon.

Then we went looking for the Olympic flame.

We walked along the water for a little while and saw just how gross it was.

Then we went to the airport with enough time to make it to make it to Starbucks before our flight. 

It was a good, full day. 

Then today it was back to school. 

First day (week) of school

I survived!

I felt very clearly like a first year teacher this week, but that will continue to improve as the days go by. 

I also had my first Brazilian food truck experience 

So far, so good.