Donation information

If you are interested in receiving a paper or digital copy of my support letter, please shoot me an email at missmarti79@gmail.com Payments can be mailed to: Europe's Children 2012 S Stewart Springfield, MO 65804 For more information on the organization I am going with, you can go to europeschildren.org Please mark Marti Netteler on the memo line of your check or include it with your check so the funds are sure to go to me. :o) All donations are tax deductible.

After a war with my printer that lasted a couple of weeks...I have been victorious and am currently in the process of printing support letters for my trip to Ireland!!! It's about TIME!!! Time is going entirely too fast and I have entirely too much to do! Coming soon to a mailbox near you.... a letter pleading for financial assistance! ha :o) I LOATHE raising money but it's a necessary evil in the world of missions. Money makes the world go 'round! I still can't believe summer is coming so quickly! I am going to miss my students so much but I am so excited for a respite! I never realized how much needed the summer was to a teacher! I m still tossing around the idea of some sort of part time job. It would be best and help get the money I need for this trip. I've got some potential opportunities headed my way...we'll see what happens! In the mean time, I am staying busy with school. It's crazy how quickly you can get behind on things. My house is a disaster, I've got dust bunnies breeding faster than real bunnies, I've got papers piled up that need to be graded, I have a dirty bathroom, a litter box that needs to be cleaned out desperately and the never ending mountain of laundry that I am bound and determined to someday conquer. I have NO CLUE how people with families are able to keep up with laundry when I as a single person cannot! Oh...and I also have a jungle in my front and back yard! ACK!!! Yesterday I went to a ball game with a couple of friends. It was my first ball game of the season and a nice relaxing time. Enjoyed the game then dinner at Springfield Brew Co (yummy!). It was a nice respite in a busy season. I anticipate many Springfield Cardinals games in my near future. If you dont eat at the stadium and park where you have pay (which is pretty easy) you can get away with spending $6-$9 for a great day of baseball. Well that's all the updating I have at this time...nothing major but I am trying to get in the blogging habit! Have a great week friends!

So much going on!

First of all...I wish I was a high tech blogger and could figure out how to do all the cool fancy stuff I see on other blogs. My blog feels so naked! If anyone is a blogging guru and could help me dress things up a bit, I'd appreciate that! WOW...SIX MONTHS have passed since my last blog. Blogging is kind of like writing in a diary. I just dont do it enough. Plus I don't think my audience is very large...so thanks to the 3 people who read this! :) There is only one word to sum up the last 6 months of my life: CRAZY! There have been definite ups and downs. Teaching in some ways is way more than I bargained for but it's also way more than I could have dreamed. Even on the days when I think WHY IN THE WORLD did I choose to do this, I am still at peace and know this is what God has called me to do! The doors He opened to get me there...wow...I am still in awe! I have always wanted to be able to have time to give to missions. I want to travel to other countries and places within the US and give my talents to help others. While I do not feel a call to full time missions, my heart is definitely in short term. One thing that has always been an obstacle is time off. I can only take so much time off of work to give. When I went in to teaching, I decided I would dedicate a portion of my summer to missions as long as I was able. At this time in my life, I am young, single and able to do that now with the 2 months I have off from teaching. I am so blessed to have that time! And trust me...it's MUCH needed! My dream was to return to Cambodia. I wanted to go so badly. I left a piece of my heart there and I can't even hear the name of hte country without feeling a tinge of love and devotion to that region. Unfortunately, that door closed this summer for me. I was and still am disapointed, but when God closes a door, he opens another one. This summer I will be going to Newbridge, Ireland. I can't imagine two more extreme locations! I will be working with a church there doing VBS. The details are still in the works, but it will be a busy and exciting time working with around 100 kids a day! You sold me at "kids!" So I'm back to blogging! I started this blog to blog about Cambodia two years ago and now I will be updating it to blog about my trip to Ireland. Stay tuned!

What a week...

My life was changed instantaneously. Last Thursday I received a call from a friend letting me know Nixa had posted a job opening. I called immediately. After being given the standard "update you app online" I thought, well...bummer, too late for that. Around 3:30, I received a call from Nixa asking me to come in immediately for a video interview. I went straight there with no time to prepare in anyway. Friday morning I got to work at 8 and at 8:15 I got a call for a 2nd interview with the principal this time. I went straight there. After I left, I just had that "God feeling" that my life was about to turn upside down. All weekend I had a strange peace about it. Monday morning I got the call that changed my life! In less than a week I have said goodbye to my wonderful kindergartners at Westport. I fell in love with those kids and that school so quickly! It was hard to say goodbye. I said goodbye to my job at GPH of 8 1/2 years. That was my family and I'm still struggling with that goodbye. Friday night I got the keys to my classroom and I've pretty much been living here ever since.

The teacher last year retired and left everything here totally unorganized. The teacher that was here didnt go through that stuff and then left everything for me. I have gone through MOST of the classroom and I know what I have and where everything is. I have cleaned everything and organized like a madwoman. I could NOT have done all of this without the help of some wonderful people. They did all the little things I could not have done. They are SUCH a blessing!

I've been so overwhelmed and driven to get everything done this weekend. This morning I opted to skip out on church, go enjoy a nice homecooked breakfast at a restaurant in Nixa and just try to relax and get stuff done today. I had some people make some comments over my outside wall my roommate wonderfully decorated. I can take criticism generally, but in my state of emotionally well being and trying so hard, I got a little teary eyed. A friend on Facebook reminded me that all of those things don't really matter. What matters is the lives of the kids I am going to impact. I know the first few weeks are going to be rough as they transition and I'm not going to sleep and there will probably be more tears....but it's the END RESULT that matters. On my way to school this morning, it hit me. THIS IS IT. THIS is what I've been waiting my whole 30 years for.

I was suddenly overwhelmed with God's goodness and mercy. I began to cry as I realized this. This is what i have prayed for and longed for for so long and now it's here! I cannot believe it! tomorrow 25 2nd graders will be under my care for 7 more months. I am honored and overwhelmed that God called ME to do this!

And when I look at the hand of God and how He has moved and orchestrated all of the details...I am just simply overwhelmed. All of the tears and frustrations that I experienced in August....they were ALL worth it. I knew there was a greater purpose, but to see it come about (so quickly) is just incredible. I am humbled. God is so amazing and I am thankful to be His daughter!

New attitude....

The other day I was reading an article in Todays Pentecostal Evangel. It was a story on Victor & David Plymire’s work in China. Between the 2 of them (father and son), they have 100 years ministry in China. When David was first entering missions, he went to Taiwan b/c China was closed. He knew the language of the place he had grown up in China, but he didn’t know the language of Taiwan (Mandarin). He said China opened and he was not sent there and when it did open, he was still not sent there. He ended up being in Taiwan for several years and to quote “even though that was not my heart’s desire.” He often questioned God and really struggled as to why he was in Taiwan when his heart was in China. Well, while in Taiwan, he studied diligently to learn Mandarin. He started a radio program in Mandarin. Over time, his Mandarin became so good that when people met him they didn’t believe it was really him because they thought he was Chinese and are shocked to find he’s just a white American. His radio ministry ended up being broadcast in China and through that, he was able to reach millions in some of the remotest villages. He went through years of valleys thinking he was not doing what HE wanted and not ministering to the people HE wanted to minister to, but all along, he really was. He had no idea that he was reaching to the people of China in some of the remotest villages he never could have travelled to himself. As a result, thousands of people know the Lord through the radio ministry he had because of his time in Taiwan. Even though he no longer has that and is retired living here in Springfield, his radio ministry lives on and is still broadcast on the air waves in China and Taiwan.



This was such an encouragement to me!. Even though my heart’s desire is not yet at Westport Elementary as a paraprofessional in kindergarten (YIKES), God has placed me there. My heart's desire is teaching full time in my own classroom. I don’t know why God has put me where HE has, but He has. I hope this is an encouragement to you today as well. I can’t tell you why God does the things He does, but I know that not only are our best interest is in His mind, but the best interest of others is as well and we don’t know what strings He’s pulling in the background to make our dreams come true and to touch other people through us as a result.



So for the next 9 months, I will continue pouring out my heart and abilities to help a great teacher and 23 kindergartners ! I will also continue learning and observing and growing so that next year I can be an even better teacher and reach even more kids. I don't know what God is going to do through me in the next year, but here I am Lord! Use me! Lord establish the works of my hands!

Transitions

I find myself often at a loss for words these days. School starts next week. While my friends are happily getting classrooms together and frantically making lesson plans...I am still searching for a job. This is not quite how I envisioned this time of year. To say this has been a struggle would be a tremendous understatement. I rarely cry. But over the past few weeks, I cannot seem to stop. I am trying incredibly hard to be at peace with this and rest knowing God has my future in His hands, but it's still difficult. While I happily support and encourage all of my friends who are now teaching, there's a part of me that struggles to even do that. I am so happy for them but I am also slightly envious. I have worked so hard and I want this so badly.

I have accepted a position as a paraprofessional in a kindergarten classroom at Westport ELementary here in Springfield. I am VERY excited for this opportunity. My biggest concern has been that if I take a year off of all education related things that it would be too hard to get back in next year with no experience and a year off. This was definitely an open door to pursue teaching and will be an inroad in the future for teaching. It is only a part time position so I will stay at GPH for another year working part time as well. Not ideal for me or GPH at all, but I am thankful they have chosen to allow me to do this.

This summer has been up and down. I had great intentions all summer and planned on doing so much and NOTHING has gone as planned. All I have done is work, work, work just to stay afloat. I am tired and have been sick almost all summer.

Despite everything, I still have hope and joy. I have many questions as to WHY God has chosen this route for me, but right now I'm not getting many answers. Only time will tell. God has never forsaken me nor will He. From the time I decided to become a teacher in 2007 until now, God has opened every door and made everything work out in ways i never could have dreamed...so I must continue to trust He will do so. While it's not my "dream," I am so thankful for the para job and look forward to meeting the kindergartners!

IN the mean time, I feel I have had a lot of spiritual growth in this walk of faith. There's the old saying "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger" and I feel very much this is one of those times.

"Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted in the Heavens, I will be exalted in the Earth." Ps 46:10

New Euphonium!

Here it is!!! My new horn! After months and months of searching and researching to try to find something that I could afford and was still a great horn, I decided on the Schiller Nickle Plated Compensating euphonium. I love it! When I compare it to my school rental Mirafone ($5000-$10,000 horn), I can't tell a difference. The Schiller is a little harder to tune but I think as I play more that will work itself out. It's a German company but a Chinese horn. I was told to stay away from any Chinese horns but after reading forum after forum about it, I decided to try it out. Every body who reviewed this horn was surprised at what a great horn it is and even compared it to some of the big names like Mirafone, Besson, Willson and Yamaha. It's a GORGEOUS horn! I am so pleased and blessed with it! Needless to say I have been practicing a lot lately! I can't wait to use it at church and in the tuba/euphonium ensemble & quartet I am a part of!