TCS Christmas Program

Mrs. Bocanegra welcomed all the parents and family members who came this evening.

The little ones did their best to spell out the meaning of Christmas!

The older students presented 'Twas the Night before Christ's Birth.

Perry Johnson was one of the narrators. He spoke so well!

Christmas Program Continued

"Twas the night before Christmas, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse! William Cantu did an awesome job playing Mr. Mouse.

The angel choir sang Silent Night.

The shepherds were watching their flocks by night.

The first and second graders quoted Luke 2:8-14. It was beautiful.

Grandma and Grampa Moon were at home hoping that their grandchildren would come for Christmas. They had a live manger scene made up of preschoolers and Kindergartners.

They were so happy to see their grandchildren arrive. Grandma Moon told them the Christmas story and fed them cookies.

Blanca's Birthday

Rosalinda's sister Blanca invited us to her home in Reynosa, Mexico, for her birthday party. This is a family that we have really enjoyed getting to know. Rosalinda and her brother Julio and his family attend our church in McAllen.

This is my friend Rosalinda and her two granddaughters Melanie and Alisa. Aren't they beautiful!

Field Conference

In October we had our annual field conference here in McAllen. Bill and Lydia Allshouse and Chrissy Greenwell came up from Irapuato, Mexico for the meetings. Tim and Sharon Hawk flew down from Marion, IN, to be with us. This was David and Angie Yoder's last week here before returning to Kentucky to start their HMA year. Bill and Helen Moon are in the picture along with Carolina Bocanegra, director of TCS.

Fire Department Visits TCS

The students at Taylor Christian School listened attentively as the firemen from the local fire station shared stories and explained their training and responsibilities. Several students got to try on the equipment.

The men explained about the equipment on their fire truck. The students were allowed to walk through the truck's cab.

We took this picture after the presentation while we watched the fire truck shoot water high in the sky. Two ladies waiting for the bus in the church parking lot across the street got a little wet from the shower.

South Padre Island

We drove over to South Padre Island for the day. We took the opportunity to go on a dolphin watch cruise. We did see several dolphins, but it was hard to get a good picture of them.

Ariana and Ariela enjoyed "walking on the plank."

Ariana is posing.

The cruise captain pulled up a net and showed us different types of sea creatures. One very interesting catch was called the bugger of the sea.

We can't remember what this was. Ariana thinks it was something spiny. I thought it was called a porcupine. If you know what it is, tell us.

This is a sea pickle.

Ariela says that this is a puff fish.

Ariela is holding a star fish.

Birthday Celebration

Ariela and Chloe both celebrated their fifth birthdays in November. We planned their party for November 10th, but they came down with the flu. We had it a week later. The two girls enjoyed dressing up for their party.

Leslie is a good friend. She is the granddaughter of our neighbors from last term.

Ariela enjoyed hitting the pinata.

She also celebrated her birthday at school with a pinata.

Ariela is the youngest of the five Kindergartners. One classmate was home sick.

Chloe is here with her sister Sidney, her parents Mario and Laura Ribera, and grandparents, Mr and Mrs. Long.

Ariela, Ariana, Jorge, and Laura

Two proud fathers and one proud grandfather

Thanksgiving with the Guajardos

The Guajardo family lived across the street from us last term. They are very special friends of ours. We were invited to their family Thanksgiving meal. Dona Maria and Don Eloy are the ages of our parents. They have four children, two son and two daughters. Their daughters Sonya and Yanet are elementary teachers in the McAllen school system. We always have lots to talk about.

Thanksgiving

Taylor Christian School students and teachers posed for a picture before eating a delicious Thanksgiving meal on Tuesday prepared by Mrs. Pena. Then we began our Thanksgiving break!

Mrs. Long and the 1st and 2nd graders worked hard on their costumes. They looked so cute!

They even made placemats for their Thanksgiving meal.

Ariana enjoyed dressing up in her Pilgrim costume.

Ariela had to try it on, too.

Taylor Cleanup

We took the girls over to the school during the cleanup to give them an idea of what was going on. They enjoyed trying on the masks. We had to use them because the fire extinguisher chemicals were very irritating.

I (Laura) worked all day Monday, September 24, at the school. That night I had trouble breathing. By Tuesday I had a lung and sinus infection and decided to stay at home with the girls. I used the time to write a prayer letter that was a little overdue. After a round of antibiotics, my cold and cough are pretty much gone.

Jorge worked the rest of the week at school with the other teachers. The professional cleaning crew began working on Tuesday, September 25. They started in the library. Every book had to be taken down from the shelf, vacuumed, and boxed up.

Each teacher had to go through their classrooms, itemizing every thing that had to be thrown out. It was not a fun process! I had to throw out several text books that were thoroughly covered with chemicals. One of my 7th grade boys has asthma, and I didn't want him to have an asthma attack from using contaminated materials.

Each classroom was completely emptied. Everything had to be cleaned. All the books dusted off. Each desk and all the shelves were washed. It was a hot job out in the sun and 95 degree weather. Once the rooms were emptied, the windows were washed and floors cleaned and waxed.

Joe was the supervisor from the cleaning company. We really appreciate their help. On Friday there were 15 people on the crew. We were a little worried that we couldn't get everything done by Monday evening, but God gave us all strength.

I fixed lunch for everyone on Friday. We ate sopa de mani which is peanut soup from Bolivia. Everyone came over to WGM's guesthouse to eat.

The rooms were ready to move back into by Monday. We had to bring in all the cleaned furniture: teacher's desk, students' desks, shelves, tables, etc. Then we had to unpack all the boxes of books and classroom materials. My room had fewer things than some of the others. Jorge and the girls helped me all day Monday. We finished around 5:00 p.m. I believe the other teachers worked much later in the evening.

Tuesday, the students were back in school. It has been a good week altogether. I did find it a little frustrating to teach without some of the texts. This afternoon, the A Beka shipment arrived. We should have all our books for class tomorrow.

Thank you to each one who has prayed for us. We have felt your prayers. God has given us grace and strength to clean and clean and clean some more. I appreciate all the staff who have worked so hard. God has unified us in a beautiful way.

Thank you also to those who have sent in donations to the school. I'm sure there are some things that the insurance won't cover. Your donation will be put to good use to help the school and students.

Taylor Cleanup

We have talked to the insurance company. An adjuster is here now taking pictures and looking at all the damage. The insurance company gave us permission to call in a professional cleaning company. Just walking through the classrooms has irritated our throats and lungs and given us headaches.

We have called in a professional cleaning company. They have been to the school and know what they need to clean. They suggested that we close school for the entire week because they do not know how long it will take to clean everything. Most of our books and paper products will have to be thrown out. The cost of cleaning books page by page would be more expensive than re-ordering everything. We will inventory everything that they throw away and reorder from A Beka. After we pay a $500 deductible, the insurance should cover everything that has to be replaced.

A lock smith has been called in to change all the locks on the doors of the school and community center.

We staff met this morning and had a time of prayer together in the computer room. Mrs. Bocanegra encouraged us to fix our eyes on Jesus. She quoted from Jeremiah 29:11 and reminded us that God has a plan for our school, not to harm us but to give us hope. Mrs. Long, the first and second grade teacher, encouraged us to persevere. We are fighting a spiritual battle. We want the Lord to use us in this neighborhood to touch the lives of the children and families who live here. We prayed specifically for those who broke into the school and for our students and their families.

TAYLOR CHRISTIAN SCHOOL VANDALISM

Taylor Christian School was vandalized Saturday night. The pre-kinder room was hit hard. The water was left on in the sink and over flowed on the floor. Glue was poured on the tables. All the wipes were pulled out and thrown on the floor and tables, as well as, the construction paper. The fire extinguisher was sprayed, leaving a film of chemical on everything.

The office was also a mess. The files were pulled out and thrown around on the desk and floor. There are snacks on the floor with pencils and other office supplies. The fire extinguishers were also sprayed in the offices, library, kitchen, and chapel room. There is a strong chemical odor in every room.

The director's office was thoroughly ransacked. The desk drawers were opened and emptied. They tried to get in the safe with a hammer, scissors, and a knife, but failed. Praise the Lord! Only a few things were stolen that we could tell (telephone and DVD player).

All the classrooms, except the computer and kindergarten rooms, were sprayed with the fire extinguishers. We called the fire department and were told that the chemical is an irritant. It will bother our lungs. Just from being there for an hour this afternoon, my throat and lungs are bothering me. We will have to wear masks and gloves when we clean up everything.

Mrs. Bocanegra, the school's director, called the police. They investigated and found lots of fingerprints. We called our insurance company and will wait for them to call tomorrow. We cannot start to clean up the mess until they see it and take pictures. School is canceled until we clean up the school.

We feel that Satan is unhappy with the ministry of the school because we have opened up 7th grade this year, the first time in several years. Mr. Cantu is our new teacher. He attended the school himself as a child. He has taught in public schools for many years. We are blessed to have him at the school.

Pray that God will bring good out of this. He has promised to do so.

Birthday

Laura celebrated her 46th birthday on August 20! Jorge brought roses to school. That was a nice surprise. One of her students, Clarissa, had the same birthday. Her mom brought pizza and cupcakes to school for lunch.

Taylor Christian School

Taylor Christian School began on August 20. Our enrollment is at 39 students. We would like to have at least 50 students. Jorge took this picture on Friday during chapel.

Laura is teaching Language Arts to the 5th and 6th grades in the morning. In the afternoon, she teaches Language Arts to the 7th grade. Mr. Cantu is team teaching with Laura. What a blessing! He has always taught the math and science classes.

Jorge is coaching the PE classes for the school. He also monitors all the recesses. That is a hot job here in south Texas! He is usually soaking wet when he finishes because the temperature is still in the high 90's here.