The following are some of the highlights of the last couple months.
Teaching
At CAJ I have been teaching half of the high school and at the semester I switch with my co-teacher and I will get the other half for the 2nd semester. We just recently finished parent teacher conferences and I met with 62 students and their parents. My office is one of the blessings that God has given and I'd like to share some photos of it.
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| My desk |
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| Bible Resource Book Shelf |
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| My Personal Books |
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| Personal TeachingResources 1st Shelf |
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| Personal TeachingResources 2nd Shelf |
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| Just a few sticky notes? |
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| Ryan's standing and sitting desks. |
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| Ryan's guitars and wilderness camp map in the background |
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| The Bible Curriculum Drawers |
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| Bathroom and shower! |
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| Hotpot Haven! |
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| The name plaque |
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| Entering the Annex building |
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| The view I often have as I walk from my office to the main building |
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| The 2nd floor window is my office |
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| CAJ field where I will soon be coaching my 2nd year of field hockey |
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| My office is the 2nd story left window. Looking out on the field. I can often see elementary kids playing while I am working. |
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| Between the cafeteria and the plaza |
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| Cafeteria doors |
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| Back of the gym. This is where all the field hockey equipment is stored. |
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| Preparing for Bible 12 Open Forum on the Ten Commandments |
Wilderness Camp
Oct. 1-5 was wilderness camp for the 11th grade class and I was privileged to co-lead a group of 10 juniors into the mountains of Okutama. It was a great experience opportunity to get to know the students better outside of a school setting.
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| Meg and Isabel |
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| Team Platypi whole group bus photo |
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| Hiking up river |
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| Working on a team Mondrian puzzle |
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| Our first camping spot |
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| Early morning cereal breakfast |
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| Gearing up for the day's hike! |
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| Soaking in the view |
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| Happy campers! |
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| Okutama mountains in all their glory! |
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| One of the best fires I made on the hike |
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| Getting ready for baked apples |
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| Wild mountain goat sighting |
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| Erika |
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| My fearless co-leader. Gibson. |
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| A gum machine...only in Japan. |
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| The blindfold walk. |
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| The sunrise from "Sunrise Mountain" 日の出山 |
On Sunday October 28th I was able to go to a Karate tournament because I had received free tickets from Coach Long who works at CAJ. My friend Daichi Yamada who I meet with from time-to-time was able to go with me and afterwards we went to a 油そばrestaurant in Ikebukuro and talked for awhile more.
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| The 44th All-Japan Open Karate Tournament in Harajuku |
Exercise
Working full-time has meant that exercising takes real intentionality because it can easily be put off on the sideline. In the last few weeks I haven't done much exercise but I have done various things even from the start of the year. I've done some basketball, staff badminton, swimming and the local sports center, some running, the CAJ Fun Run (placing 17th out of 40+ runners) and even doing an Insanity workout with some fellow staff members. For those of you who don't know what Insanity is, it is a cardio workout that requires no equipment and the first several minutes you think are really easy until you realize it gets increasingly harder and you have about 40 minutes yet to go. By the time I was done I was soaked with sweat. I felt muscles the next day that I never knew I had!
Professional Development
Recently we had Dr. Virginia Rojas (Gini) come and do a seminar on teaching second language learners at CAJ. She was an excellent speaker and gave some ideas to us teachers on how to scaffold for our students who don't have English as their mother tongue.
Something that has been a recent decision is to pursue a multidisciplinary masters through Buffalo State New York. This master's program will be starting in January and will be one that I am able to do in Japan. The first half of the masters will gain me a certificate in technology and the goal is to be able to learn more about technology so that I can integrate it as an enhancer to my teaching of students. I am stepping out in faith in this, trusting that the Lord will guide me as I meet with teachers from other schools and as I continue to learn how to be a better teacher.
Cooking
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| Testing out my Asian cooking skills! |
Meeting with People
On Monday mornings I am getting together with two freshman guys discuss the Bible and encourage each other. It has been really good so far and we have been challenging each other to read more of the word. Right now we are reading 1 Thessalonians.
When I was at Cross Country finals I happened to bump into a St. Mary's alumni that I used to compete against when I was running cross country at CAJ. We decided to get together and catch up so we went to Ikebukuro and talked for a good 2-3 hours over a meal and the Lord really blessed the time we had. He is not a believer but I was thankful to be able to share my life story and to also hear his story as well. Please be praying for Joey.
Prayer Requests:
- Field Hockey: The season will be starting soon and I will have the added responsibility of coaching in addition to my teaching workload; pray for wisdom in time management and planning. Also pray that the team and myself will be representatives of Christ on and off of the field.
- SSS Sports Day: I'll be helping with leading the games for the many homeschooling families who will be coming for SSS sports day. Pray that all goes well and that we will have a safe and fun time on Sat. Nov. 10
- COETAIL Masters Program: Pray for the finances to be able to take on this challenge but most of all that I will be able to not only keep up with my teaching but make leaps and bounds in my growth as a teacher during this time!
- Accountability: Pray for wisdom as I meet with two freshmen guys each week on Mondays. Pray also that I will be in the word and be a man of integrity so that I can teach the word of God effectively and with boldness
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