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Tag: dormitory

#alt=The Christmas Candy House, debbiejoneswarren.com
The Christmas Candy House

The Christmas Candy House

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“Christmas will be here soon,” my first-grade teacher said. “In a couple of weeks, you kids will fly back to your parents on their mission stations for the holidays. Today you’ll make a Christmas craft to take home.” Twenty happy faces beamed around the sunlit classroom at the boarding school for missionary children in Nigeria, and cheery voices called out. “Yay! It’s almost Christmas!”  “Crafts are my favorite subject.” “I can’t wait ‘til we go home.” During the next half…

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Shower Troubles, debbiejoneswarren.com Nov 2018, bathroom sink
Shower Troubles Revisited

Shower Troubles Revisited

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Jutting out from the green-painted walls, three shower heads loom dark and shadowy under the single lightbulb that lights the bathroom. I’m scared to take my first dormitory shower in this open room with a dozen other first-grade girls…. I’ve rewritten this story using the present tense, and I would value your honest feedback. Does this tense flow well and bring you more deeply into the story? Or does it sound awkward? What other thoughts do you have? Shower Troubles…

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#alt=Happy Valentine's Day, debbiejoneswarren.com
Happy Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day

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I stared out the window of the second-grade classroom at the tall mango tree and listened to the birds tweeting in its branches. The drone of the teacher’s voice faded quietly into the background at the boarding school for missionary children in Nigeria. My racing heartbeat slowed for a moment. Then the chalk screeched on the blackboard, and I quickly turned my head toward the front of the classroom. I don’t want to get yelled at again for daydreaming. I…

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#alt=I'll Be Home for Christmas, debbiejoneswarren.com
I’ll be Home for Christmas

I’ll be Home for Christmas

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While I stood at the kitchen counter chopping veggies for a salad, I tapped the icons on my phone to call my mom. She and I often feel lonely at dusk, so I’ve started calling her around suppertime while I prepare dinner. Mom’s voice sounded weary. “Hi, Honey.” I was a little concerned but began with my usual question. “How are you doing today?” “Well, right now I’m feeling depressed. I don’t like that the radio station plays Christmas music…

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#alt=Fear in the Dorm Office, debbiejoneswarren.com
Fear in the Dorm Office

Fear in the Dorm Office

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The dorm Auntie kissed each of us four girls goodnight and turned out the light in my bedroom in the boarding school dorm in Nigeria. “Good night,” my roommate said, a little too loudly for the Auntie’s liking. “Good night. No more talking after your light is out. You’re the last room in the hall, and I don’t want to hear another peep from anyone.” The short, dark-haired lady’s voice was firm. Her skirt swished as she turned, and her…

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#alt=The DNA of a TCK, Part 2, debbiejoneswarren.com
The DNA of a TCK, Part 2

The DNA of a TCK, Part 2

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In July, I posted a short article about the MK/TCK reunion Chris and I attended over the July 4th weekend. It was wonderful to see so many people with whom I had gone to school as a child in Nigeria. The group was made up of MKs, TCKs, Nigerians, expats, and their spouses. (*Terms are explained below.) As in any school reunion, we chatted, got reacquainted, and shared familiar stories of bygone days. On Saturday morning we had a large…

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#alt=The DNA of an MK, debbiejoneswarren.com
The DNA of an MK

The DNA of an MK

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Over the July 4th weekend, approximately 110 missionary kids (MKs) and their spouses gathered for a reunion to explore The DNA of an MK. Every three years we hold a reunion for both of the boarding schools I attended in Nigeria.… and no, the reunions aren’t in Nigeria! The location alternates between Indianapolis and Dallas, the two cities in which the volunteer organizers live. At each reunion, only three or four people from my graduating class attend. However, because they…

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#alt=workbook A Surprise Experience of Forgiveness debbiejoneswarren.com
A Surprise Experience of Forgiveness

A Surprise Experience of Forgiveness

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Sitting in a women’s Bible study, I looked around the circle at the smiling faces. Am I the only one who has trouble with forgiveness? I wondered. As a six-year-old, my heart shattered when I was sent to boarding school for several years. When I returned home for vacation, I couldn’t express to my parents the homesickness, rejection, and abandonment I experienced. I felt hurt and angry. The many instances of abuse I saw from people who were supposed to…

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The Scary Bunk Bed debbiejoneswarren.com Sep 2018
The Scary Bunk Bed

The Scary Bunk Bed

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On my first night in the dormitory at Kent Academy, the auntie on duty pointed toward the tall bunk bed against the right-hand wall of Room 15. “You’re in the top bunk,” she said. In my unfamiliar bedroom at the end of the first-grade hall, my stomach tightened, and my six-year-old voice squeaked like a mouse. “Do I have to sleep way up there? But how do I get up so high?” I’ve never slept so high off the ground….

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