November in Pictures

Hello everyone!!

Sorry about the long wait for a new post, but there has been so many exciting events I've been part of for the month of November. If you know me at all, you know I have a camera attached me so this month I've decided to make my blog, "November in Pictures".

Enjoy!

Mondays, Tuesday mornings and Thursday
afternoons I teach at Kingswood Primary School:

Looking at Kingswood from the street.


Looking at Kingswood from inside the gate in the playground
(this is the building where all the classrooms are).


Looking at the 2 other buildings on the Kingswood grounds from the other side of the playground - the building to the right is used for music therapy and the building on the left is the "Art Studio" and the classroom I tutor in.


Looking to the left of the classroom from the door.


Looking to the right of the classroom from the door.


Looking at the door from the far corner.

Tuesday afternoons and Thursday mornings
I teach at Elm Wood Primary School:

Looking at Elm Wood from the street.


Looking in the classroom from the door - we only have
15 students at Elm Wood so it's a much smaller room.


Looking at the rest of the room from the bulletin board
(notice the girl working so hard!!! That's Elizabeth,
she's one of my AWESOME coordinators).


Looking at the classroom from the computer - the desk I teach at!

Wednesdays and Fridays I teach at
St. Mark's Church of England Primary School:

Looking at St. Mark's from the street.
Sorry I haven't taken pictures inside this school yet!
I will and they will posted soon enough :)





Oxford Street at Night:
Christi and I decided to check out Oxford Street at night after hearing they put the Christmas lights up (YES!! This was the BEGINNING of November!!!):

Busy Oxford Street, EVEN at night!



Christi showing off the beautiful lights on Regent Street
(which links Oxford Street and Piccadilly Street -
2 of the busiest streets in the world).



Christi had never had Starbucks....
so being the good friend that I am,
I introduced her to Starbucks hot chocolate.
Success, she LOVED it!!



We ended our night at Trafalgar Square to
see the beautiful lighted fountains at night.





Outside Evaluation Presentation Event:
Springboard had a research team come to do an outside evaluation (http://www.springboard.org.uk/20090930.aspx )
and then they asked the team to present the information
to our supporters. Here on some pictures from the event:

Blesilda, Amanda, and Janet working hard
figuring out the name-tag situation.


While waiting for the guests...
this guy looked like he needed a friend.


All the full-time volunteers for Springboard -
back row: Ben, me and Eddie;
front row: Christi, Blesilda, and Amanda.





Thanksgiving in London!!!

Setting the table has always been my job,
so I decided to have that be the first thing
on the list to tackle for the Thanksgiving feast.


Teaching Christi to make real mashed potatoes
(thanks to watching all the wonderful women from
my family cooking in the kitchen at all those
Thanksgivings and Christmas gatherings... it was quite helpful!)


Cleaning up some of the mess so we can make
the stuffing and the green bean casserole.


Potatoes are boiling,
the stuffing is about to go in the oven,
mixing the green bean casserole...
all the smells were delicious!!


The turkey's out the oven... almost time to feast!!!


Stuffing, mashed potatoes, turkey, gravy,
green bean casserole and dinner rolls for the feast;
then pumpkin pie and apple crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert...
what a great feast!!


We watched "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving"
after we stuffed our faces.


I'm so thankful for these girls!!
Me, Blesilda, Amanda, and Christi
(all of us are full-time Springboard volunteers).

I hope you enjoyed the lovely pictures and
there will more up soon enough
(as it's almost time for me to start my December blog).

Have a GREAT Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Supporters for December:
Alice Erb: 19th in honor of her daughter's birthday.
Lynn and Craig Pykkonen: 25th in honor of Jesus' birth.
Laura and Andy Chapeau: 30th in honor of Laura's birthday.


Prayer requests:
- Please continue to pray for all the children that all the volunteers and I teach. Please pray for them to have a beautiful Christmas and for them to retain the information they've learnt over the past term during their 2 week break.
- Prayers for all the volunteers around the world, as for most of them this is their first Christmas away from home. Please pray for them to feel at home where they celebrate Christmas and for all to remeber the "reason for the season" and in Christ they are "home".
- Robin's Nest Children's Home - the children's home I taught at last year - for all the children to feel how loved they are through Christ and all the people loving and praying for them around the world and for the new directors to cherish their time spent with the beautiful children.
- Prayers for all my supporters (YOU!!). Please pray for their Christmas' to be filled with joy and happiness this season.




Don't forget that I love e-mail's and snail mail of prayers, encouragement, personal stories, and Bible verses. My information is:

E-mail: DanaEPO@gmail.com

Address: Dana Olson
7 Banfield Road
Nunhead
London, United Kingdom
SE15 3TX

"Just Life" and "Job Title: Springboard Tutor"

“Just Life”

Even though it's only been a little over two months since I've moved to London, it's already beginning to feel like normal life. I found that in Jamaica, after living there for a few months, it was... how do I describe it??..... life. Same with London, it's life. I do my normal routine throughout the week: tutor at my three schools five days a week, head to church on Sunday afternoons, life group on Tuesday nights, Alpha on Wednesday nights, and whatever pops up in between. Don't get me wrong, I still wake up every morning thinking, “I'M IN LONDON!!!” and riding on the second level of the buses will never get old, but it's “life”... just like it is anywhere else.

But because I say it's “just life” doesn't mean I'm not learning or growing, because that would be far from the truth! I think the thing about picking up and moving to anywhere in the world is about being able to cope and deal with the things life throws at you. Or maybe in a better sense of words, to be willing to let go of any expectations you have about life and to let God work, mold, and create what He wants inside of you.

That last line is entirely what God has done with me in the past two months. He has shattered any expectation I have had about living in the UK: the UK and the US are REALLY different regardless of the “white-upper class stereo-type”, there are homeless people everywhere, there are churches everywhere, and UK football is bigger than anyone could EVER imagine (those were a few examples of shattered expectations). After God showed me that I was going to be living in a community of Jamaicans and Nigerians, the homeless people sitting in front of McDonald's with their dogs, all the options to choose when it comes to attending a church service, and how crazy it gets in any pub when a football match is being played; He started to show me what He wants me to do, see, and feel. Don't get me wrong though, I wasn't sure I was ready for the journey God is taking be on, but I finally gave in and He has shown me more than I could have ever imagined. Some examples include:

1. While living out of my comfort zone in a new culture, I have recently thought that I have been doing something wrong and not able to understand what I have done wrong. Even though I live in a country similar to my home country, it has been much more difficult that I thought. The sense of humor is VERY dry and I'm not used it, people are quite blunt, and even though there are 7 million people in the city I live in – it's quite lonely. Yes, these things seems so minimal compared to so many problems around the world, but I kept taking everything personal, as if everything from this new culture was an attack on me. But after realizing it's the culture and even the English feel this way, I was able to say:
“Hey, it's not me! This is the culture and I can try and understand the dry sense of humor but also bring on some slapstick and have a laugh out loud with others; I can understand that if someone says flat out, 'That won't work' I can ask back, 'Do you have any suggestions as to what you think will work?' and know that people LOVE that I ask for their input; and I can embrace the “loneliness” of a massive city and spend that time with God but I can also reach out and make friendships with people that I've met at the schools I tutor at and church.”

2. When I realized that the above was true, I felt so incredibly free... but that only lasted for about a day and then I felt the same. I didn't understand what was happening. Then I went to an all women's day retreat through the church I attend and the first topic was about surrender. I had thought I surrendered everything to Christ, and I had, but I didn't realize it was going to be a daily surrendering to Him. Not only going to God when I feel sad (which is not very often) because I didn't understand a joke, or because someone didn't like how I did something that day, or because I miss my family and friends (but yes, I miss you all a lot!), but I'm talking about praying and surrendering (giving all my worries and fears to Him) about these things DAILY. And do you know what?! God has been so incredibly faithful in fulfilling what I have asked of Him. In Matthew 7 it says, “Ask and it will be given to you... For everyone who asks receives... how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those ask Him!” Jesus spoke these words to a multitude of people and to be able to read them and apply them and to feel the peace wash over me through the Holy Spirit is so powerful. God wants me to ask Him to be my strength while surrender by telling Him I don't want to worry about the things I said above.
As I am gaining footing living in London and deepening my conversations with God daily, even though I have been obedient to His calling for my life He reminds me that He chose me long before I accepted His call and He honors my obedience to Him. In the 12th chapter of Genesis begins the story of God calling Abram (later re-named Abraham by God) to be the beginning seed of my Savior (Jesus, of course!). It was pointed out to me to at a church service that after 11 chapters of men standing up and telling God, “I will” and failing, Abram is the first man God CHOSE to do His work. Abram obeyed and God honored Abram by blessing him with livestock, land, a new name (Abraham), a son, and protecting him from his enemies (yes there's more to the story, but this is a general overview). Now, obviously, none of these things have happened to me (thank goodness, mostly because I'm not a guy!!) but as I have honored and obeyed God's calling to be willing to geographically move, willing to let God let situations happen only to come back to God praising Him, and willing to let God change my heart for the things He wants accomplished through me; God has blessed me beyond comprehension. Not only has He blessed me with an incredible support system at home (yes, that's a shout out to family, friends, and supporters from home!) and lovely friends that I have made here, but the most wonderful feeling in the world... the love, peace, mercy, and grace the Holy Spirit washes over me every time I acknowledge that God is the one who called me (just one girl out of the trillions of people in the world) to accomplish His work here on Earth. Yes, at times it seems stressful, crazy, and like I'm not doing what He wants, but when I come back to the simple truth that He's the one who chose me, my life doesn't seem so much like “life” anymore.



So maybe what I said about life “just being life” in the top paragraphs isn't correct at all.... maybe “just life” is so much more that I could have ever imagined. Yes, it's daily, and that happens wherever you go or wherever you move, but maybe life is about letting God take you through situations, learning from them, surrendering them to Him, and realizing God has called YOU to what He wants YOU to do for His kingdom.





Job Title: Springboard Tutor

Now that I have had time to settle into my routine with routine throughout the school day, I have become so much more than a tutor to my students. Yes, I teach, plan lessons, write IEP's (individual education plans), and make sure all the resources are there there when it comes time to teach, but I have noticed with all of my students that they love coming to Springboard. But let's be real, what kid wouldn't love to attend a 45 minute session of playing games (games about reading, writing, and spelling, of course!) and having an adults undivided attention for the whole time!? Any child would love that, but with most of my students, they don't get that crucial undivided attention from an adult anytime throughout the day, except when they come to Springboard. Heartbreaking, yes, I know because I see it everyday, but it's an indescribable feeling when I see children's pure joy and pure comfort on their face when they are in a safe and caring environment, not only to learn but to be with a consistent and loving adult.
I really like the teaching aspect of my tutoring, but what I love about what I do is to be able to be that consistent and loving adult to all the children I teach, no matter what their abilities are or are not. I get the chance to instill each of my students with the knowledge that it's okey to try and fail because everyone does, the confidence to be able to try new things, the voice to say they don't understand a new concept, and the love, care, and concern every adult should have about any child that comes into their life.
When I decided to say “Yes,” to Springboard in June, I had no idea how involved with the children I would get even though I only see each child twice a week for 45 minutes, but it is so much more fulling and beautiful than I could have ever imagined.





Some of the Supporters I forgot to add for August and September are:
August:
Alice Erb: 31st in celebration of her son's birthday.
September:
Stacey and Kent Cunnningham: 3rd in remembrance of their first date (which led to their beautiful marriage).
Septmeber:
Alice Erb: 5th in celebration of her daughter's birthday.


Supporters for November:
Stacey and Kent Cunningham: 3rd in celebration of Stacey's birthday.
Nathan and Laura Leckband: 5th in celebration of Nate's birthday and the 26th in celebration of Thanksgiving and being thankful for missionaries around the world.


Prayer Requests:
- Praise that God provides more than enough for every need I have had since moving to London.
- For God to be with, guide, and walk with those God has called all around the world (and yes, this includes YOU!!).
- For God to provide for not only children I teach but for all the children that come to Springboard – for their health, hearts, and minds.
- For all of my supporters that pray for me, finance me, and send me encouragement and up-dates in their lives (I really am grateful).




I hope you have enjoyed my journey so far. I have enjoyed every step of the way and I pray that you are changed by the words I have written. Please feel free to pass my journey along to those around you whom you think will enjoy reading.



Don't forget that I love e-mail's and snail mail of prayers, encouragement, personal stories, and Bible verses. My information is:

E-mail: DanaEPO@gmail.com

Address: Dana Olson
7 Banfield Road
Nunhead
London, United Kingdom
SE15 3TX




Chat with all of you soon!
Love you,
Dana



“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight” - Proverbs 3:5