A month of challenges

This post was started last month, worked on over the last 3 weeks, and finally edited. Sorry, yet again.

My, has lots happened in the last few months!! They have gone by so quickly and it feels like a whirl wind. I seriously cannot believe it is late October. Really. How did that happen?? Days here always go by so quickly. It's crazy. I have been going, going, going pretty much since I've arrived, and it's not going to stop anytime soon.

In my last post, I didn't mention that we have both girls from Orocovis this year as well as the three that were here last year. So now we have 3 dorm kids. With Maria and Yajaira being from 3 hours away, they stay over the weekends also, so I not only have been helping out during the week with the dorm, but also on the weekends.

During the third week of school, Christie, a girl from Canada who visited us in Feb of the first year I was here, came. She was planning on being here at the beginning of the semester, but had a small medical issue come up so that delayed her arrival. But she's been here since then, and also helps out with dorm duty in the evenings and weekends. So it's nice to have another person to split things up with!

This month comes a new challenge for us, for me. Betsy, our principal/director/head teacher, is away for the whole month. This is her 30th year here at the school and her friend was planning on them taking a trip to Australia. She wanted to go in Summer or Christmas time,  but for different reasons, it just so happened to be scheduled in November. That means, since I am the oldest and have been here the longest, I am in charge while she is away. Thankfully, with Christie here, she is teaching most of the classes with me as her co-teacher. I still have my classes, as well as helping out with some of Betsy's classes that Christie isn't sure about. Since both of us are in the classroom all day, we are relieved of dorm duty. Philip came back on Oct 31, being able to help out with the dorm, and Lora came back a few days before that, also providing that helping hand. The Yoder's have also come back with the addition of their new little girl! They aren't doing things in the classroom or dorm, but it is good to know they are here in case they are needed. There was also a family here for the first 10 days of the month doing some work here. God is so good in His timing. He knew that Betsy would be gone this month, and made it so all these others would be here so that in her absence, we would have more people here to help if needed.

As far as teaching goes, never have I understood as much as I do this year how much work a teacher actually does!! Up until the beginning of this month, I only had 3 classes I was teaching. I do the reading program plus 2 other classes. All 5 students are on different reading levels so teaching each of them is tough in its own way. So even though I only have 3 classes, it's really like I have seven. Very challenging sometimes. One of the classes is Spanish vocabulary for both Maria and Yajaira.  Yajaira is also learning to read in Spanish, so not only am I teaching these, I am also learning right along with her/them!

I seriously don't know how teachers do it. I said it before and I'll say it again. I am not a teacher. This is not something I really enjoying doing (the prepping, planning, researching). Before this month even started, I found myself doing more work for my 3 classes than I have all semester. I was kind of getting bored with how I was teaching and really wanted to try something different. So I spent the time that I am supposed to 'have free,' researching, prepping, and planning for the students. Most of my free time isn't really free anyway, but I found myself spending more time on just one assignment for a few students than I have spent on getting prepared for all my classes!! Tiring! Then this month came along and there is no time to try to be creative in teaching. I am just trying to prepare, plan, and survive with the addition of Betsy's classes.

As I said, prepping, planning, and researching are not things that I really like to do. I do, however, enjoy seeing the students actually learning and understanding what I am teaching. It is hard. Sometimes I feel like, "Why am I even doing this? What are they actually going to learn?" Sometimes I feel like I am not getting anywhere with them. But over time, and continual practice from them and teaching from me, I see the progress. When a student sees a word that, in the past, didn't know what it meant, but is now able to recognize it and tell me what the sign is, I see that the work I am doing is benefiting them. I see the progress that has been made. And THAT, I enjoy!

I've heard the saying, "A Teacher's work is never done," and I never doubted that wasn't true. But now I truly understand what it means since I have experienced it myself. So, shout out to all the teachers out there. Thank you for all your hard work. You may feel as though your work isn't appreciated, but I am here to tell you it is. At least by me anyway. A BIG thank you to all the teachers I've had in the past. I see how much it took to teach me and all my other classmates, and I say, your work was not wasted. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Please pray for us during the rest of this month. Pray for me! Since Betsy left on Nov 2, the enemy has really tried to rear his ugly head here at school through some of our students. Thankfully, God is on our side and things are now peaceful. Pray that the Lord would give us the wisdom and knowledge needed if times of chaos were to come up again;  that Christie and I are able to focus on our lesson plans for Betsy's classes; that Tess, Lora, and Philip are able to work together on things that come up in the dorm; that us as staff would be able to work through the challenges that come up during the rest of this month; that it would be a month of personal growth for each of us while she is away; and that the Holy Spirit would just rest upon this place and we would be so in tuned with the Spirit that we would have and feel His comfort and peace.

Pray also for the students- that they will be obedient, respectful, and patient with Christie and I as we take on Betsy's classes, that they would all have peace with everyday life here at school and the different things that may come up, that they would grow in maturity and knowledge of life and school things that when Betsy returns, she will notice the difference. Pray also that we would not have any SERIOUS issues with the dorm girls (this is my main concern while Betsy is gone).

Thank you all for your prayers of support. Thanks, also, for taking the time to read my blog. Above all, I want to thank God, who pours out His continual blessings each and every day, sometimes when I don't even notice. Thank You, Lord, for equipping me to do the things that I am. For the things that I will face, I thank You in advance. I know that You are right here beside me, cheering me on. You never fail, and I praise Your Holy Name. 

Some encouragement

GOD is so faithful and awesome! The other day, I read in my devotion book to breath in Jesus. I read the whole page, then read it again slower, as I tried to focus on what it was actually saying, and when I was done, read that sentence again and did exactly that. I quieted myself and imagined I was breathing Him in. Since then, I find myself thinking about that and doing it on occasion. It gives me peace and reminds me that He is there with me.

Also lately, each day I read the book (because I do different things for my devotion time), it starts with "Come to Me," Seek Me," "Rest in Me." Man, the Lord must be telling me something. But those things are exactly what I need to do. And I find when I actually take the time to do them, I feel more at peace and have a calming in my heart and spirit. Yes, things come up and are thrown at me each day, but when I take that minute and breath Him in and rest in Him, even just for a minute, I feel better. So I encourage you, take some time today to breath in God. And when you have a little more time, go to Him, seek Him, and rest in Him, because He wants to give you restoration and refreshment.

Be blessed my friends! And please keep me in prayer as things here are always so crazy. I'm working on an update to post soon, but really just felt like sharing this with you. :)

Have a great rest of the day and week!  

"Bend me, Lord"

So, once again, it has been forever since I have written. :-/ I was totally planning on it while I was home for the summer, but being there is always so busy and crazy that none of the stuff I plan on doing while there gets done. :-/

Oh well. Last semester ended well and my summer was super great! A much needed time home with my most favorite people. I seriously can't believe it is the middle of August and we just finished our first week of school. Seems like such a blur. 

I arrived last Friday, well really Saturday early morning (1 am), and have been on the go since I arrived. I normally come back about 2 weeks before school starts, but a family vacation was planned for the first week of August before I knew I was coming back for another year. So Betsy so graciously let me come back after it was over so I could spend the week with my family and nephew. So glad to have had the opportunity to make those memories! But in doing so, I had to jump right in to work for the semester. I thank God that there was a group here that took care of our welcome back VBS week, so all I had to do was be on stand-by and make sure that everyone was behaving and focused and doing what they were told when they were told. That was super nice to be able to have a few more days to figure out my thoughts and plans and get things ready for this week ahead.

At the beginning of the week, during our morning staff prayer time, a devotion was read that stated, "Bend me, Lord." Wow. What a way to start off the school year. And I feel as though I will be bent quite a bit this year. For those of you who don't know, I am going to be teaching...in my own classroom...by myself. This is a new challenge as I am not, naturally, a teacher. Some whom have worked with me over the last 2 years may say differently, but I do not consider myself one. Not a classroom one anyway. I have no concept of what children should be learning, I don't like planning, I am not creative, and the list goes on. Thank You, God, that Betsy knows/does/is all those things and has provided me with lesson ideas for the students. YAY!! :-D

I will be teaching Reading Comprehension. I did teach the reading program last year and helped out A LOT last semester in Betsy's class on days that she wasn't there, which were many as she was dealing with a court case as well as had other things going on that took her away from the classroom. So I do have some experience, but all of the planning, etc, was hers. I just followed what she told me to do. This year, it is ALL ME!

I am also dealing with getting readjusted back to life here, being away from home and the things from there, and on my own again by myself away from my family and friends.

So pray for me as I deal with all of that as well as get last minute things together for my classroom and finish up my lesson plans this weekend. As I said this is a challenge, part of the bending process that He will be doing, and, although I was very overwhelmed and anxious and nervous before, I am now a bit more at peace and am trusting that the Lord will not let me fail. Why? Because He is for me. And if He is for me, who can be against me??  (Romans 8:31)

Prayer requests:
-Besides above, the students-that they would be obedient and gain much knowledge through me as I teach. Also, that they would gain a better and more understanding of who God is.
-My relationship with with God would grow more deeply.
-For my financial support. It has dropped quite a bit over this last year.

Thanks, friends. And thank You, Father, for you continual love, grace, and mercy on my life. You never cease to amaze me with Your greatness in both my life and those around me. Thank You, Lord. Be with each of the students and staff as we prepare for the start of another school year with You. Help us as we each go through that bending process.


Some pictures of my bulletin boards:

  

Pictures of my time home:

 

A new semester and some new friends

This was originally written in the beginning/middle of February. It is now the end of March and I am just getting this up. The team I talk about, has come and gone and now we are settling back into our normal routines. I have been quite busy with this and that. I also had some computer issues for a while, and that is why I haven't gotten this out yet. But I still wanted to post it and I have added to it since then. I hope you enjoy!

Between 2/8 and 3/10

Wow! It has been an eventful semester already and it's only the middle of February!! I went home for Christmas break and had a WONDERFUL time with family, friends, friends that I count as family, and my precious nephew. I miss everyone dearly.

This semester has had some changes. We have Tess back! She was here for my first year just boarding at the school while finishing up her college degree and working. She then went home over the summer to raise support so she could be full time staff here. She came back the middle of Dec and is here as our social worker/office worker at this point. She also helps out with Juan in the evening.

There is also a gentleman named Philip here for the semester. He is from Canada but plans to come down each year to help out here. Since he is here, and he is a man and is also Deaf, Betsy and I felt it was GREAT for Juan to be with him in the evenings. Juan will be able to learn so much more from him than from me because he is both male and Deaf. So Juan is with Tess for free time and with Philip for the rest of the evening.

That means I am relieved of dorm duty. So what am I doing? I am working in the classroom with Betsy! For the first 3 weeks, I was interpreting math class with a teacher who came down with her husband for a month to escape the snow and to see if this is something they want to continue to do in the future. I interpreted in the morning, and then in the afternoon helped out in Betsy's class.

Since they have left, I have kind of been doing a bit of everything in Betsy's class.  Toward the beginning of the month of Feb, Betsy had to be in court for 2 days interpreting for someone, so I had to be in the classroom all by myself! Boy was that interesting! Not something that I expected was going to happen, but someone had to be there to teach the children while she wasn't here. Since then, I have been in the classroom by myself about 4 days now. Each time I get a bit nervous, but then I remember that I did it before and it shouldn't be that bad.

Also during that same week in the beginning of Feb, Philip's first grandchild was born, so he went back to Canada to meet the little one, and Tess and I shared dorm duty. Needless to say, I was EXHAUSTED! I am SLOWLY getting used to being on a day schedule, so I still get tired easily. And then, with having Juan in the evening a few hours that week, it really wore me out. The tiredness has gotten better, but nonetheless, I still have to get adjusted.

Learning to give up control with Juan was challenging for me also. When you do something for a year and a half and then someone else comes in to take over, it is very hard to relinquish control of things if they don't do things the same way you do, which how often does that happen?!?! Sometimes I still have some trouble with this, but I am learning that there are so many things that he needs to learn and that we have been and are working on, that it is ok to say something that is new and has only shown up 1-2 times before. It's all a process.

As much as I like having a break from him, and feel as though it is much needed for both of us (as he has become dependent on me and pretends he doesn't know things when I am around sometimes), with having him for that one week in the evening, it has made me realized that I do miss some things we shared during dorm time. I miss praying with him, and giving him goodnight hugs and kisses, and saying goodnight and I love you.  Unless I am upset with him, he always smiles during this time and spells H-U-G and K-I-S-S after I do each one. He really is such a happy carefree boy. And that gives me much joy to see him smile, spell those words, and say "I love you too" before he goes to bed. But I am enjoying having my evenings off. :)

Unfortunately because of different reasons, I still haven't gotten into a routine in the evenings yet. I so desperately want, and need that though and I am hoping if comes quickly because we have so many visitors this semester. With visitors here, there is always something happening, whether it is going to the beach, rain forest, store, out to eat, etc. I often am always running when people are here. I hope I am able to find a good balance between being with them, and being by myself as the semester goes on. I don't want to get worn out quickly by not taking time for me when I need it. So many times I get wrapped up in what the visitors are doing, since they are only here for a certain amount of time, that I forget that I need time to myself also so that I am able to be good company when they are here.

So pray for me. There is only about two weeks this semester that aren't occupied with people being here. One is this full week (last week in Feb) and the other is scattered, a few days here and there. I love visitors, but I just need to find the balance of when to commune with them and when to shut my door and hide away so that I get filled with Him and His peace, and not get burnt out.

                                       3/22/15

As I woke up this morning to get ready for church, it was the first time in the last nine days that it was quiet. We were blessed this past week with a group from Lancaster Bible College. I must admit, before they came, I had mixed feelings about them. We have had visitor after visitor this semester and although it is wonderful to have people come and give of their time and skills, it is very tiring for us staff. Trying to keep up after them, make sure they are doing ok, have everything they need, spend time with them, take them places, etc, is a lot of work besides our normal everyday work. Thankfully, this was the first group this semester as others have just been 1-2 people at a time. But before they came, I didn't know if I was ready for a group of 14 people to come, as well as all the work that is involved in them coming. But it didn't matter, because they came, and now that they are gone, my life is changed because of them and I am so glad they did come. I am super exhausted from them being here, but the impact they had on my life was totally worth it.

Ice cream twins :)

It is amazing how much a person/people can impact your life in a short time. I said this a few times since being here, but it really is true. Normally, I have a small connection to one of the girls because the boys are younger and immature and just don't care to talk to a 'old woman.' But with this group, I was impacted more by the guys than the girls. There were 7 guys, 5 girls, and 2 leaders, one of each sex. I had the pleasure of sharing my walls with the boys this week, and it felt weird to not hear them rustling around, talking, and getting ready today. Watching and hearing the guys just unite over the week was so joyful to see. The team didn't have cell phones, because they all decided to leave them behind while on the trip, and the boys knew the unity among them was because they had no access to social media or communication to their friends and family back home. So they talked and goofed off with each other instead of being on their phones.

Their willingness to do hard manual labor and pretty much whatever was asked of them, was awesome. To be on the receiving side of that was so nice. I didn't get the talking under their breath, the rolling of the eyes, or the slight attitude that has happened at times with other groups. And I didn't hear any complaining from any of them about the work they were doing throughout the whole week. In response to something they had forgot to do, needed to be done again, or needed to do be added to their list was always "Sure, I'll get right on that." or "Ok, I'll make sure I do it tomorrow." There was never a sigh of "Ugh, lady we know, just get out of our way and let us do it." And that was MUCH appreciated.

It was also sweet to see that they tried to act like gentlemen when I was around. There was a few times that they didn't know I was near, and one would say something to the other that would be typical guy behavior, but then when they knew I was there, they'd apologize and kind of get a bit embarrassed. Or they'd be talking and when I would come up to ask them something, they would lower their voice or just stop talking so I wouldn't hear the "boy talk" happening. That was a reassurance that someone has raised them right, and that God is working on their hearts and they know how to act when a lady is around.

Sunrise with the group

Throughout the week while getting ready in the morning, I'd look out my window and would see a few of the guys do their devos out back in the stillness and quietness of the morning before the day started. That was so heartwarming to see. Most times, if at all, you see the girls do this more than the boys because sometimes guys think that it 'isn't cool' to spend time in the Bible and pray when they are around other guys. But to see that these guys' focus was on the Lord first, and then other things was very touching to me. It gave me a new hope in men, and made me believe that God is still raising up godly men for Himself. They all made me excited to meet my future husband because they  were examples of what godly men should be like and showed me that God is still at work in the men of this world (which I know He is but to see if in front of you, gives you new assurance :)).

I did have some connections with the girls too, but because there was fewer of them, 2 worked in the classroom almost all week, and where they were staying, I interacted more with the guys. Some of the girls impacted me too, though. Their story's and life experiences up until this point in their lives, was awesome to hear. And from hearing them, I was able to share some of my experiences and/or wisdom about some situations with them, which then made us grow closer. This group of ladies was great too! They seemed to not mind doing anything that was asked of them either. Also girls, many times, can be drama queens and/or create drama amongst others in the team, but these girls didn't. They were all sweet and got along well with everyone. That was also nice to see.

Everyone of them, touched my heart/life in some way while they were here. None of us were ready for them to leave. The work they did was done properly, quickly, and without complaint. And now it is a week later almost, 3/28/15, and I still think of them. I'm so glad they are only 45ish minutes away from my home in PA and hope that I get to see them over the summer when I am there. :)

Bonfire on my birthday!

Some things to pray about, if don't mind.  I appreciate it!

-Strength for each day.

-Wisdom and knowledge for the different jobs I do in the classroom and the days I teach alone (as this semester is filled with times Betsy needs to be out of the classroom for different things).

-I am able to discipline myself to learn a few new things this semester.

-I am continuingly showing God's love and grace to those around me.

-For my homesickness. This semester is the worst.

-I would hear His voice about a few things I am praying about.

-I am able to rest, rest, rest this week of vacation. My mind, body, and spirit need it. It came at a perfect time.

Father, thank You. For a good start to a new semester. For the chance to do something new. For the ability to do that something new. For the strength to face the fear of teaching (and have someone that forces me to face it). For the new things that I am taking an interest in and the ability to learn them. For the people you send in our lives at just the moments we need, for that encouragement, reassurance, and example of You and Your work. And so much more. You are so good to me and continue to bless me each day. Even if I don't see your blessings, I feel them, and for that I thank You too. I give you glory and honor. In the name of Jesus, Amen.