goodbye teaching

after the decision had been made to leave my job, i let my boss and my coworkers know.  they were disappointed but understood.  now, for most people thats all they have to worry about, but its a little different for teaching- i had to break it to all of my students that i was leaving!  to put it mildly, they were a bit unhappy with the news...
as their bible teacher, i was able to explain it using a bible story: abraham, the first patriarch of the faith, had been called by God to leave his home and go (this was a story that all the kids had been familiar with because i taught it to them at the beginning of sixth grade).  God didn't tell him where he was going, just that he needed to pack up and begin his journey.  abraham did it, he didn't know where God was leading him, but he took it on faith and headed out.  i let the kids know that God had called my family to do the same.  we don't know where this journey will end up, we just know that it's time to pack up and go.  though there were a lot of questions, confusion, and some anger from the students, i think they understood that this is what God is calling me to do.  (and you know what?  this is the first time in years that i actually do feel God calling me to do something.  i guess thats a pretty good sign that i'm on the right path, huh?)
i will miss many of them, but i'm looking forward to what happens next!
(more pics)