too much of a routine?

I think I'm probably finally hitting my rough spot. Usually when I am stressed, that's when I crave loved ones and the comfort of home. For these first few weeks, I have indeed been stressed. Stress at the beginning of a new school year, a new job, and life in a new country is definitely normal. I think that the stress and busyness has wholly consumed me. It has not allowed me really to stop and think about...well...life.

I'm thankful to finally feel ahead in some aspects. Naturally, I believe that my planning for school and time towards grading will continue to be heavy, however, I am starting to get into a routine which helps me have more time to take a break. I feel like I haven't really experienced life outside of the school walls since school started. While I am anxious to explore and be out, my tendency with being overwhelmed is to crave alone time, or time where I can just veg (=

So in those recent moments, where I have stopped to take a breath, I feel like yes, I'm missing home. I find my mind drifting to thoughts of my favorite time of year...fall, and how I'm missing the crisp, cool days and the smell of leaves. I also think of my niece Mikayla who I'm missing so much because I'm not seeing some of her precious moments of growing.

My goal is not to be depressing...although I feel it might come across that way (= Simply my thoughts on my heart tonight.

My thoughts and prayers are with all of you....I continue to feel blessed by words of encouragement and support. Love to everyone...we miss you!!

The beginning of another school year

From the moment we got off the plane the lingering thought of beginning another year teaching was in the back of my mind. Of course, it's that time of year and while it usually is at the forefront of my mind, this year teaching is obviously going to be filled with a lot of new things. The first day of school was overwhelming and I was exhausted by the end of it. I taught my intro classes (freshman) second and third period. In the afternoon I taught my other three classes back-to-back. When I got home I spent about 40 minutes for dinner and then worked until about 30 minutes before I went to bed. Ah, it reminds me of my first year of teaching when I spent my whole life lesson planning!

This morning I read Philippians 4:4-7 to my class. I mentioned how the start of the year can be overwhelming and that this verse could be a comfort.“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

I was so blessed to have a smooth and amazing morning after reflecting on this verse. I can't say that my afternoon was as smooth (= BUT I was thankful to feel that I had a handle on something! My general feel for this year is that the main struggle will be in just getting familiar with what I need to teach. I'm already realizing that I'll need to be reading at least two books simultaneously and that I need to think of ways to make my research class exciting (seriously...I'm bored by the material and it's pretty hard to make it interesting!) However, it is refreshing to have students sit quietly and look at you. I don't think I've put more than an ounce of energy into any kind of discipline (yet). I've had a couple students slightly distracted....each one I had a talk with apologized and said they would work on it! What is that? In the city I probably spent 90% of my energy towards discipline...hence I can deal with anything...but there's nothing really to deal with!

Thank you for your prayers...don't stop! There are a lot of amazing things going on at this school. There's a real sense of a community of faith. There's an evident feel of ministry among the teachers and it's wonderful to be apart of something that God is truly working in.



My Classroom




Roses I bought for $2.50!

I know I keep saying I'm going to post pictures of our apartment AND I will! I've been painting and trying to get things a little cozier. I'm waiting for it to be somewhat complete before the big reveal (=

ADDRESS CHANGE

So if you received a thank you from us...or perhaps just obtained one of our little cards, it had our address on it for the states and for here in Quito. WELL I found out the address we were given had a couple numbers missing. Therefore, if you're interested in our address here in Ecuador...feel free to email me or post a comment and I'll email it to you!

We're still in the process of putting together our apartment, I will post pictures soon though (=

Getting to Ecuador

It started at 5:30 in the morning when my wonderful father drove us to JFK. We dragged in our huge hoard of luggage complete with four large suitcases, two carry-on suitcases, a backpack and a laptop bag. We were worried that all of our suitcases would be overweight...three were, but the woman checking us in only charged us for two!

We flew LAN airlines to Guayaquil which is a city on the coast. It was a six hour flight and it was overall a smooth trip. I was impressed with the airlines entertainment system which always helps a long trip go faster. It had touchscreen “tvs” and a large selection of movies, music, and games. I watched Iron Man 2 and Shrek 4 (=

As I get older, I have noticed how my feeling towards flying has become less and less positive. I'm just not a fan. I'm sure you know the feeling when a plane starts to descend. You have some moments of feeling like you are falling, sort of like dips in the air. As we began our descent and experienced those brief dips, I noticed that many of the passengers were making “ooo” or “eee” noises during those times. Almost as if we were on a roller coaster ride and everyone screams when you go down the big hill. Well there were no screams, but I have to admit, it didn't make me feel very comfortable. Finally when we landed everyone cheered and clapped. This part was amusing and I identified with that cheering..which seemed to be a way of expressing a sigh of relief.

Now that we were in Ecuador, we needed to go through immigration and customs even though we would be continuing on to Quito. I realized that we had never traveled with so much luggage before and it was the biggest pain ever. We managed to make it through and find where domestic flights departed and we sat there for about 4 hours. By this time I was ready for bed and that made me miss home.

Again with no complications we boarded our flight to Quito which was only 32 minutes flight time and we arrived. Once we got there, we had one piece of luggage missing. Thankfully it was already in the airline office (blessing!) and so we were able to bring all our suitcases with us to our apartment.

We were greeted by a couple who also works at the school. They had bought some food and set it up in the kitchen which was really sweet.

Yesterday we settled in, unpacked our belongings, and went to the grocery store. I'll post pictures and write more about our apartment soon.

p.s. In attempting to revamp my blog, I was hit with major complications. Last week I spent many hours trying to rearrange things and there were a couple things that just didn't work out. Thus, if anything seems out of place...sorry, I'm still trying to figure it out!

The Shepherd

As I mentioned in my earlier post, Clinton’s parents treated us to a trip to Italy and France (actually we just got back yesterday!) It has been a time to get to know the inner workings of the Simmons family, as well as experience amazing sights, delicious food, and….because of the time of year….extreme heat (=

We visited the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, The Statue of David; as well as seen paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and many others. But there’s one thing that I saw that wasn’t particularly grand or by someone famous, but yet it was still so powerful. It was in the Vatican Museum.

While a lot of what I’ve written in these first couple posts have dealt with saying goodbye and dealing with change….I continue to seek out a feeling of peace. I get very caught up in the stresses of this move and the checklist that needs to be taken care of, but looking at this image conveyed a meaningful message.

“The Lord is my shepherd”

What greater way to feel at peace than to remind ourselves that God is in control. That we like sheep are small, weak, imperfect….and yet we have someone greater and more knowledgeable than we could ever dream of who is looking out for us. He not only guides us but he comforts and cares for us.

I’m reminded of a sermon I heard recently at the beach service in Connecticut. The pastor was speaking on how insane it is to think about the universe and all its complexities. How God created something of such magnitude and here I am, one small, insignificant speck. Yet God knows me. This image reminds me of the frailty of life….the image of Jesus cradling the sheep. Something little and relatively unimportant and yet sought after and cared for.

It’s breathtaking to see such sights and powerful to reflect on them too. I am thankful for this experience and the chance to spend time with Clinton’s family before we leave.

In fast motion....

Clinton and I finished up our last day of school yesterday. I still feel like this transition is only semi-hitting me because as I left yesterday, it still just felt like “phew, summer vacation is here!” and I joyfully went home. And yet as I rode the subway home (thankfully I'm leaving just in time because the express train I regularly take is now running local due to budget cuts...if you know anything about this, you know what a PAIN it is!) in the back of my mind the list of things to do over this “summer vacation” was tapping away like a woodpecker. I might also add that some little part of me is asking myself “what are you doing Christina?”

Am I panicking? Well no, not really. Am I stressed...well sure, most who know me will attest to how I can be uptight when I have much to do. I will say that when there are things to do, I like to do them right away so that when they're finished, I can relax. Can we say the same for Clinton, not especially. What would a big life change be without some lesson about marriage (= I am thankful that despite the stress and occasional arguments we still are able to see why this is all worth it.

1. 2.

1.Before we started packing

2. The beginning of organized mess

(packing never looks neat, even if I try to stack everything nicely!)

We have 10 days before we move out....and then shortly after that we are leaving for Europe with Clinton's family. While this seems oddly placed in our schedule, it's been a trip planned for quite awhile. Clinton's parents are generously bringing us and Clinton's brother Ted to France and Italy to celebrate Ted's graduating from college. We're fortunate to have this time to relax in the midst of craziness. When we come back we have about two weeks before we leave for Ecuador! This is why life feels insane right now....but really, when does life ever feel as if it slows down?

This post is turning out to be a hodge-podge of thoughts, but before I close I want to say a bit about our fundraising. First THANK YOU to those of you who have already started to support us, we are so thankful for your gifts and are honored and blessed to have your prayers and support. Next, many people have been asking us if we have a goal amount that we wish to raise. We didn't include this is in our letter because we were still talking to people abroad and making up some estimates. After discussion and thought, our preliminary goal is to raise $500 a month. If you want more information about supporting us, feel free to email me or Clinton @ cy1157@yahoo.com or Clinton.Simmons07@gmail.com.

P.S.THANKS MOM for getting me started with packing up!

Our first farewell party given by our friends in NYC, John and Nicole. Thanks you two!!

Saying goodbye to New York City

We still have a month before we move out of the city...but lately the popular question people are asking us is "what will you miss the most." Well, when you live here, it's hard to pick one thing you'll miss. More than that, I can't even articulate what I'll miss...if you've lived here I'm sure you know the feeling. Today my aunt Liz said it perfectly, "once New York is in you, it never leaves you." Even though we're leaving, I'm happy to keep the essence of NYC in me (=

Here are some photos to document our life in the Big Apple (in no particular order)....



DUMBO, Brooklyn



The United Nations




Our Wedding


Food from a street fair!




Christmas in the City


Brooklyn Bridge


Manhattanhenge



Mets Game



Broadway show



Halloween


Cafe Lalos....my FAVORITE cheesecake


Highline Park..old subway tracks