Pennies for Paraguay Update!

As many of you already know, though I'm not sure how much I've said about it on this blog, I will be heading to Lambare, Paraguay in January to teach ESL at New Horizon Methodist School. 

I am going as a missionary through Latin America Mission and will not be receiving any salary, which means I will need to raise funds for my plane ticket, housing, and living expenses. I have not received the actual numbers yet, but I have made a rough estimate of $10,000 for the entire year, including airfare.

One of the ways I have started fundraising has been collecting loose change from friends, as well as saving all of my own change. I ending up putting all of my pennies in a separate piggy bank to help me keep my vision in focus: Pennies for Paraguay.

I recently filled up said piggy bank, and posted this picture on Facebook and Instagram for my friends to guess how many pennies were inside. Apparently no one on Instagram took me seriously, because they all just "liked" my photo instead of guessing, I did however get a few guesses on Facebook. :)

So, without further ado, the grand total of pennies in the Pennies for Paraguay Pig was.... 763! :D

The winner of the Penny Guess was my good friend Tara Olinger, who guessed 775!

Her guess would not have been possible without the mad math skills of Buddy Stark, who came in second place at 888.

Honorable Mentions:

Sierra Navarro 1,286

Josh Griffes 1,991

A big thanks to Jessica Manning who donated 338 of those pennies along with other change. :)

This brings my fundraising grand total to:

Plane Ticket: $361.93

Mission Support: $225

TOTAL: $586.93

If you are interested in donating any Pennies for Paraguay, you may do so online in two different ways!

For donations directly towards my support raising go to my LAM missionary page and click "Support this Missionary." 

For donations towards my airfare you may visit PayPal* and send money to me using my email address: clancast@olivet.edu 
(*Using PayPal may cost you a small fee in addition to a donation. You will also not get a tax deductible receipt.)

If you are interested in donating by other means, please contact me or stay tuned for an upcoming blog post with more details!

Thank you all for your prayers and support! I will keep you updated as I continue this journey!

Hasta luego! 

Cassidy :)

The Good Things

Today was one of those days, you know, the one where...

...you wake up 8 minutes after you should leave for work and 7 minutes before you must leave for work...

...you make good time on I-4 until hitting bumper-to-bumper traffic for miles and call work to say you don't know when you'll be there...

...your gas light comes on while at a standstill on the interstate, with who knows how long until you can exit...

...you stare out your window after in hour in traffic, contemplating if it's socially acceptable to pee in the median on the interstate, because you drank a whole bottle of water thinking you'd be at work already...

...your whole body starts quivering in physical pain as you try not to pee your pants after finally making it to the exit...

...you arrive at work an hour and a half late after spending two and a half hours getting to work when it should have taken an hour...

...you arrive at your location at work only to find out half of your cashiering technology doesn't work...

...your day finally gets better until it starts pouring while walking to your car...

...you drive home, soaking wet, for an hour in the rain...

you know, that kind of day.



But you know what? I've been doing a really great job at thinking more positively lately and being thankful for the little things every day. 

I'm thankful I woke up today in my own bed.

I'm thankful my car started.

I'm thankful I have a job.

I'm thankful for bladder muscles that work. 

I'm thankful for gas station bathrooms. 

I'm thankful I have a cell phone.

I'm thankful I have a job that allows me to make people smile every day. 

I'm thankful for warm showers.

I'm thankful I serve a God who cares enough about me to help me not pee in my car and who gets me to and from work safely. 

I'm thankful for today.



This song came on the radio twice while I was on my way home tonight (88.3 in Orlando and 106.1 in Lakeland) and I think it went well with my day today...

Every good thing comes from the Lord. We shouldn't take these little things for granted!

Broken Heart in Training

They warned me.

They said I might cry...and they were right.

They said I would pray for them....and I sure do.

Student teaching is hard, and I'm not talking about the lesson planning or even the teaching.

I go to school each morning and walk down the halls past such precious children. 

Some don't have loving homes.

Some don't own warm clothes.

Some can't afford Valentine's cards.

Some misbehave to get attention.

Each one a life I can make an impact on and that's what keeps me going. 

This week has been hard as some of these realities really sink in. 

I have one homeless student who I love dearly, but who my heart breaks for. The fact that my kindergarteners are worried about not having Valentine's cards because "mom doesn't have money" makes me so sad. If only teachers were allowed to adopt kids...my apartment has plenty of room to spare!  

I just want to cry because I love them all so much. My heart just breaks when I hear of other students in my building bringing drug wrappers, knives, and other things to school. Or those who have trouble listening or misbehave for attention. If only I could spend a few minutes with each and every student and show them all the love of God through my actions. 

Last week I was able to spend some time working one-on-one with a student from another class. One whose name is known around the building because of his bad behavior. He didn't want to do our 100th day painting activity while the other teachers were around, but once they left and we were doing 100 exercises together, he listened so well and he was so funny telling me he was working on his "packs." By the end of our exercises he told me he had "two pack" abs. :) Then I let him pick a Spiderman video to watch until he was picked up by his teacher and that made him so happy, he sat in SILENCE until it was over. Just that short time made me so happy that I could really impact a student by giving him some positive attention. 

Seeing kids from other classes in the hallway start to recognize me and give me hugs just makes my day! I even have a second grade friend in a regular ed classroom who thinks it's fun to tell me "Hola" and "Gracias" because I'm a bilingual teacher. :)

I know God is preparing me for the lives I will impact the rest of my life. This is just a taste of what my life will be like as I get a new set of students each year to love on and pray for. I know God made me with this heart for a reason, and I couldn't be happier. 

So I may sit here in my apartment by myself, crying over and praying for my students, but that's what I was made for and I wouldn't have it any other way.

:,-)

Isaiah 1:17

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ Learn to do right; seek justice.
    Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
    plead the case of the widow.