He's Got the Whole World...

This sunset the other night reminded me of how mighty and powerful our Lord is! He is the Lord Most High, our Creator, and he has everything under control. He paints the glorious sunsets, gives strength to the weary, provides for our needs and cares about the small details of our lives. I praise him for being in control so that I don't have to be. Many months ago I presented you with some prayer requests and although I have not been faithful in keeping you updated, the Lord has never ceased to be faithful in answering. So since the Lord has answered, I can't help but share of his goodness and faithfulness!

Update #1: Grad school.

In Janurary I asked that you would pray for guidance as I begin looking into various Masters degrees that I felt I shoud pursue. Well, I am excited to report that I am ofically a student in the Global & International Education program at Drexel University. What a challenging, rewarding, stressful adventure this has been! I am almost finished with my first quarter and my mind is overwhelmed with all of the new information that I am learning. I can honestly say that I love being a student again, although the transition was more difficult than I expected. The intense work load caught me by surprise. I remember many days back in April when I had to literally stop every 30 minutes and pray for focus, clarity, understanding and peace. I had taken on teaching, grad school and directing a musical and I realized that I could not do all of these things in my own strength. Praise the Lord for his continual grace and provision. Now the musical is over, my year of teaching is coming to an end, my position paper is written and I can look back and know without a doubt that it was God that pulled me through!

Update #2: Nigeria.

The process of preparing for my July trip to Nigeria has been an adventure in itself! Cancelled flights, credit card issues, visa confusion, oh my! Thankfully all of that is behind me now and I am happy to report that my passport is once again tucked safely in my apartment with a very cool looking Nigeria visa sticker! I will be leaving July 2nd and returning July 30th. I ask that you would begin to pray for safe travels and that God would open my heart to the things that he has planned for me while I am there. As the trip draws closer I will keep you posted with more details about what I will actually be doing while I am there.

I thank you for your prayers and your continual support! There is power in prayer! So please continue to present your praises and prayers before the Lord. He hears, he knows, he cares!

The reviews are in!

"SMCA Schoolhouse Rocks!" - B2B Herald
"Un Spectacular Marvilloso!" - El Norte
"SHR Jr. Poised to Sweep Tony's" - Wall Street Journal
"Biondo and Company Brilliant in Debut" - London Times
"Cheek-Numbingly Fun!" - USA Today
"Young Stars Light Up the Night" - NY Times

Haha, ok so the NY Times and USA Today were not exactly in attendence! But I'd like to give a special thanks to a friend who saw the show and gave the wonderful reviews! :) All joking aside, my students were phenominal! They nailed their lines, remembered all their dance moves and sang like stars!

What a privilege it has been to work with these students! Each one of them is so talented and I am proud of all the hard work they have put into this show. This was a new experience for all involved and I am so thankful for the grace that the students showed me each day as I learned with them how to put on a show. They showed up at each rehearsal with excitement and energy and worked hard every day! The show would not be complete without each of their smiling faces and I feel blessed to have such outstanding kids to work with1 All in all the show was a hit!

Click on the image below to watch the show! Enjoy! :)

It's (Almost) Show Time

The day has almost arrived! Tomorrow is the opening night (and only night haha) of Schoolhouse Rock Live! The Program are made, props are ready, line and dances are memorized... the mental checklist is almost completed and now I am hoping to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show! I am praying that all of the kids will have calm nerves and remember everything that they have worked so hard on. I am so proud of them!

Stay tuned for reviews on opening night and hopefully some video of the stars! :)

Tye Dye Time!

We had a lot of fun last week making our costumes and I happy to say that the tye dye t-shirt turned out great!! Although there was a slight complication and none of the yellow dye stuck to the shirts. However, they still turned out perfectly and ended up looking much more uniform with only shades of reds and blues. I am thinking this might be a blessing in disguise...

Adding the first drops of color to the shirts.

T-shirts finished, hands different colors, all in all a great afternoon of tye dye! :)

Rescued

Be sure to tune in to CNN this Saturday night (8 pm EST) for Rescued, a documentary about Christian missionaries who are serving Haitian orphans. This video was created by Discover the Journey, a non-profit that is a friend of Back2Back.

Check out the video trailer.

Where has the time gone?

The most recent addition to my classroom... a Summer Countdown!

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My how the year has flown by! I can' t believe that I am already in my last few weeks of my frist year of teaching... 17 days to go! Will they all go by this fast? I would imagine that they do.

In these last few weeks I am trying to enjoy every moment, but it seems like I blink and another day is over. Between teaching, musical practice and grad school I have kept very busy. I love being able to be a part of all these things, but unfotunately it has left me with little time or motivation for keeping up on my blog and keeping in touch with my faithful friends and supporters. For this I appologize. I know that I am long overdue to give a good update on the happenings of life and ministry in Mexico, as well as updates on prayer requests and praises. However, it will have to wait a bit longer because right now I am off to make costumes with the kids for our musical. We will be tye dying t-shirts! This should be an adventure! Haha wish me luck!