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.