More Spring Break goodness

Monday of spring break I ate at Pei Wei, one of my favorite oriental places, with one of my best friends from high school, Aubrey. Aubrey and I had lost touch for a while, but we have recently started e-mailing and have rekindled our friendship. She is getting married in October and has asked me to be a part of that, and I am so excited. I can definitely see God working in her life, and I am so excited for our new friendship to continue growing. Aubrey and I in high school

Monday I also studied for the GRE. Well, I say study, but I really mean, look at the book, close my eyes, get distracted, look back at the book. It was really challenging for me to even have the motivation to study, but I did the best I could. Monday night, Adam and I decided to go to Margaritaville for some yummy dinner. It was good for just the two of us to hang out and talk and eat some extremely delicious food. It was my first trip to the restaurant in Nashville, and it was definitely worth it. I savored every bite and enjoyed the company of one of my best friends.

Adam and I

Tuesday rolled around and the pressure was on for me to study for the GRE. I have always had really bad test anxiety, and this day my stomach was in my throat. I was terrified of failure, so I spent most of the day trying to cram in as much information as possible. I knew I was going out to dinner that night, so I studied as much as I could before getting ready to eat with an old friend. All of the mathmatic equations were becoming jumbled in my head, but I tried to be as prepared as possible. I really wanted to relax that night and not think about anything, and that was an absolute answer to prayer. I met Nathan my freshman year of college at the Baptist Collegiate Ministry. We became friends in Chicago while we were serving on a mission trip there. We had lost touch after he graduated college, but decided to meet up and talk about life. We went to California Pizza Kitchen and ate some delicious pizza while telling each other about of journey of life. It was really wonderful to see how God was using him. Nathan and I in Chicago

Wednesday was the big day. I had studied as much as possible, and now it was go time. I left really early to get to my test, fearful of being late. They let me start my test a little early after filling out a lot of paperwork that said I would not cheat. I was expected to be at the testing center for 4.5 hours, but I decided to take no breaks and finish a little earlier. Surprisingly, it only took me about 3 hours to complete. As I was going through the questions, I really thought I had not done well. I knew that I needed an 800 to get into the grad school I want to attend. I'm closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and waited for my score to appear. 910. 910!!!!!!!!! That is the happiest news I could ever have gotten, well at least that day. I skipped out of the building, so proud of the score I had just received. The only way that I would've gotten that score is by God's grace. He is so good to me all the time, and I feel more affirmed that I am walking in the path He has laid out for me.

Oh, the perks of being a teacher..

One of the best perks is that you get SPRING BREAK! I was so excited about spring break this year because it meant not only did I get to go home, but I was able to see God move through the lives of thousands of students at the Youth Evangelism Conference in Nashville. All the pictures I put on here are not from this break. Even though I took my camera almost everywhere I went, I somehow forgot to take a single picture.

I left Haiti at 5 pm on Friday, but a bunch of my students were on my flight, so I wasn't totally out of "teacher-mode" yet. Once we hit Miami, I was exhausted and was just ready to be home. I arrived in Nashville around 11 pm and went straight to Ihop with my mom, the two Adams, and Jared. They really are the cream of the crop when it comes to friends.

The Adam's and Jared when I came back in December!

Saturday I slept in late, and watched tons of Glee! I have missed watching that show, and it was really the only one that I wanted to see (you can go ahead and bash me for watching stupid tv shows, it's ok). I took one of the longest, hottest showers of my life and really rejoiced in the fact that I was sleeping on a real bed. The littlest things remind me so much of God's love for me. After being lazy and enjoying the luxuries of life, I got ready and went over to visit one of my best friends, Kellye. We had already decided to hit the town that night, but I wanted to spend some time with her before we were surrounded by tons of people. We ended up going to eat with my friends Michelle and Whitney, then we headed downtown for my favorite ice cream on the planet. We then went to see a local band play where a couple of other friends met up with us. I felt like I was truly living the "Nashville life" that night, being surrounded by southern accents and country music.

Kellye and I at her bachelorette party!

Michelle and I when she visited Haiti in February

Sunday morning I decided to go to a new church, Hope Fellowship. They have only been meeting for three Sundays, but I had been attending their home study meetings in the Summer. I really wanted to see how God was working in this church, and I can tell you that He is! I'm so excited for all the exciting things that are happening in this life of this church, and I'm even more excited that I get to see it happen! I was put on the spot to share a little about Haiti. I was so nervous, but really just asked God to speak through me and put something on my heart to share that might allow them to see a little bit of what He's doing here. It's so hard to summarize Haiti in any length. It would take me days upon days to truly explain everything that is Haiti. The sermon was fantastic, and the community there was so wonderful. I truly felt that these people that didn't even really know me, loved me, and that was the best feeling in the world.

Sunday afternoon I wanted to spend some time with my sister. I can't remember if I have mentioned this on the blog, but I am going to be an aunt, so I wanted to spend some time with her before the big day. I was praying that it would happen, while I was home, but instead, she is having little Kailee Ann tomorrow morning in a scheduled c-section. We went to lunch at Olive Garden and just sat around and talked for the rest of the day. It was great to hear her thoughts and tell her a little bit about Haiti. I miss getting to see her all the time and talking to her about anything and everything.

My sister, me, and her husband at dinner

Sunday night we decided to have an impromptu game night. There ended up being a lot of people there (several who I didn't know), but it ended up being one of my favorite nights. We played signs (my absolute FAVORITE, mafia, and killer). I loved spending time with people my age and not having to be a responsible adult at that moment. I love being all grown up, but I needed to let loose and not be in "teacher mode" for a few days.

I'm going to space out my week at home because I don't want you to get bored with a ten page blog. I want to share with you all the cool things God showed me this week so I'll continue this crazy story tomorrow.

Homesick in Haiti

Today I am feeling homesick. I know that in 6 short days, I will be back in Nashville, but today just sucks.

Today was my sister's baby shower. Not only have I missed pretty much her entire pregnancy, but I missed the shower today. I was supposed to be skyped in to the shower, but I haven't heard from anyone in the family today. Every ounce of me wishes I could just teleport myself to Nashville to be there for this occasion.

I know that what I'm doing here is what I am supposed to be doing, but right now, I am just wishing I could share in this occasion.


Isn't she the cutest little pregnant lady ever! At least I will get to meet Kailee while I'm home next week!

I whole heartedly believe that I'm in Haiti for a reason and God is doing awesome things. Even though I wish that I could be there with her, I'm excited for this week before Spring Break to pour into my students and be the best teacher and mentor that I can be.

Until next time...

Am I A Missionary?

Am I a missionary? Yes, I am. But so are you. Say whaaaat? At least I think so and I hope so. The term missionary is such a weird term. What exactly is a missionary? I was talking to some friends the other day and we were talking about the term “missionary.” When I come back to the States, I want to continue to be a missionary. A missionary, in my opinion, is anyone that is actively sharing the Word of Christ.

I think that being a teacher makes it very easy to be a “missionary.” I encounter students every day that do not know the Lord. The interesting thing about my students is that they are surrounded by poverty everywhere they turn, and many of them are apathetic to that. A lot of the students do not realize how well off they are and how big of a problem the poverty is.

It is super ironic that I started blogging about this earlier because today at Bible study we talked about money. We read in James 5 where it talks about the wealthy. I keep thinking about my life in the States. What do I want my life to look like when I get back? I live SO cheaply here. I don’t worry about cable, I don’t spend much money on food, and other things that are “necessities” in the States have no value here. I really love the simplicity of it all, but I know that once I get back to America, things will change drastically. I would like to say that I’m going to try to maintain the same type of lifestyle that I live in Haiti once I get to America, but I know myself. Friends want to eat out. Friends want to go see movies. Friends want to do things other than sit in the apartment and watch DVD’s that we’ve seen a million times.

I need to be praying more. For my lifestyle, for my students, for my friends. I want all of us to realize that money is something that is here today, and gone tomorrow. Success does not equal happiness. It is my mission to be a missionary at all times. Whether I am living among the poor, the rich or the in between, I need to be sharing Christ will everyone, all the time. I need to love the unlovable. I need to be with the poor. I need to show my students that there is more to life than being rich.

Some days being a missionary is hard. But isn’t that the same way for all believers? I never want to be content and comfortable, because I want to be taken out of my comfort zone and given opportunities to share Christ at every opening.

I feel like I just needed to share all of that. I challenge all of us to be missionaries all the time.

In other news, today is Melissa Hope’s first birthday! I cannot believe that she is one year old today! Although she still looks like a 6 month old, she is growing like a weed. Jenny, the lady adopting Melissa, flew down to be with Melissa on this special day. It truly broke my heart that I could not be there celebrating with her, but Jenny is so gracious and Skyped with me this evening so I could see her on her very special day.





This Friday, we have another basketball game. This is our third one of the “season.” We are currently undefeated. Here are some pictures from our last game versus our rival, Union School.

Some of my awesome sophomore girls


Another sophomore student of mine shooting free throws

Team huddle on a time-out

Final score! Go Eagles!

Also on Friday, I am meeting up with these lovely ladies for our discipleship time. Our time together has been really good, but I really feel like they could open up a lot more. They are such incredible girls, and I know that God is going to do amazing things through these girls. It is so wonderful to get out of “teacher-mode” and hang out with these girls on a more “friend” basis. They are all relatively closed off when we join in small group, but I’m really hoping they come out of their shells. Two of the girls have really opened up to me. One girl seems to be somewhat angry with God. She doesn’t understand why the earthquake happened and why Haiti is the way it is. She believes that God is punishing the country and sometimes the answers are so hard to find. I feel like she is having a major transformation in her heart, and I’m really excited to see where that leads.

My discipleship group: Maika, Taressa, Lorena, Paige, Celine, Alexandra, Claudia, Myrlene

My sophomore girl's class. Somehow this is the only class I got a picture of.

This blog is a lot heavier than I originally thought, so I’m going to end on a light note that makes me very happy. Vols won! So glad my boys got it together and finally pulled out a win!

Until next time,
Kristina

Party in the Moulin Sur Mer!

Staff Retreat. Beach. One whole weekend. All you can eat buffet.

Those are my favorite phrases right now. I keep reliving last weekend in my mind, over and over again. We live in such a dirty place. Port-au-Prince is known for its trash and its smell. The weekend getaway was exactly what I needed to refresh.

We ate a lot, we swam a lot, and tanned a lot. We also got together to worship and sing to our Savior. After singing to our Savior, and learning more about Him, we were able to enjoy his creation.

Every morning, I woke up saying, this is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.


The water was so fantastic. Since we live close to the equator, the sun blazes down, and there is nothing more fantastic then jumping in the ocean to be refreshed. God really blessed me to be able to relax and hang out. I spent a lot of time with the girls and got to know several of them more personally. It is so important to me to have super good friends and be able to express what is going on in my life. This weekend definitely allowed me to know the girls better and talk on a more personal basis.

Who knew, there ARE ducks in Haiti!



The water was beautiful!

Defense, Eagles! Defense!

Quisqueya Christian School had their first boys basketball game of the season a little over a week ago. If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE basketball. A small piece of me is dying inside as I write this because UT is playing Kentucky, and I'm not able to watch it.

Now, QCS is definitely not college-level ball, but it was so great to watch the boys play and really put their whole heart into it. Carl, Jonathan, Israel, Ramih and Kevin started off the game. We played MorningStar Academy (I think), and they had several fans show up to support them. There was even one crazy lady in a white shirt and jeggings that LOVED to dance. I think she was probably talking some "smack" too, but their team was constantly down by at least 10 points. I really wanted to shout my favorite UT insult, "You're ugly!" but I figured that might not be appropriate for a high school basketball game.

Crazy lady in white shirt and jeggings. She spent most of her time dancing it up.

Coach McMahan watches the Eagles from the sideline

The boys played so great! Most of the boys on the team are in one of my English classes, so it was so great to support them as they took their team to victory. Although we were constantly up by an insane amount of points, it still felt as though it was a close game. That might be because their fans were constantly cheering, giving their guys more motivation to score.

Final Score: QCS 57, MorningStar 37
Total Domination.

MVP of the game, in my opinion, would go to Jonathan. He scored 21 points and really displayed awesome leadership skills for his team. The students decked out in the purple in yellow to support their classmates. I even decided to show some school spirit and put on the colors that I have grown to love.

Cristina and Kathryn, sophomore girls, paint up to support their school

I haven't rooted for a high school team since ole' faithful DA, but the Eagles are soaring into a special place in my heart.

Go Eagles!

QCS plays Union School this Friday. Union is our biggest rival in all of Haiti (and one of the only teams we play) so hopefully we will be able to pull out another win and watch our arch enemy lose once again!

Also, I've decided to start being "pen pals" with some people. I find e-mails to be much more significant, and I'm able to learn about the lives of others and share things that I sometimes don't share on my blog. If you interested in being a "pen pal" just comment with your email address, or shoot me an email at kristinabirkhead@gmail.com. I would love to share more of this journey with you!

>K

Special Prayer Request

Hey friends,

Today has been a rough day. I am so frustrated with so many things, and today brought out the worst in me.

My first class was good. We had a quiz and I thought they would all ace it. I graded them. Maybe one person passed. Am I teaching it wrong or are they just not studying? Obviously, something is wrong, so tomorrow we are going to hound it out. These kids WILL understand quadratic equations!

Then my second class. 10th grade boys. They are a hard age group to handle. They are young, and they are boys.

Then another lump was thrown in my day. I found out that I going to have not one, but TWO new students within the next two weeks. I really wish I could just excuse them from the first month of school, but that won't help them for the final exam. So, I have to catch up these students on everything that we have done. I'm excited about the new students, but really frustrated with the amount of work they have to be caught up on.

But with all those frustrations, there is a much more pressing issue. A freshman girl has been sick this year. She fainted last semester and after having a lot of tests found out that she has epilepsy. She has not seized at school until today. Everyone started running to where she was and after ushering them all away to get them to go to class, I found her there, seizing. Luckily, the math teacher was holding her head so that she didn't get a concussion. The other English teacher was there to help as well. Luckily, her mom was on the school's campus for a meeting and was able to quickly get her to the hospital.

This girl is such a sweet person, and I'm begging you to join me in prayer for her. Many of her friends were so concerned about her, and you can tell she is loved by all. Mentally, her brain is tricking her and she needs so much prayer. Her medicine often makes her do and say things that she may regret in the long run. So please, please, join me in prayer for this sweet, sweet girl.