Acts 14:21-22 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
Today we got to celebrate Uncle John Marshall’s birthday with cake and tea before he left to go back to the states. He is such a big part of this mission and his leaving was hard for many of the kids and staff. He brings a fun and energetic life to the mission and easy to see that he will be missed.
After saying goodbye to him, it was back to working on decorations and preparing for Christmas. Jeff and I both helped out in the dining hall by hanging various decoration, though Jeff had to duck out several times for rehearsal at the school with Lachlan. I am so excited to see this program that the kids have worked so hard on preparing.
Today was also the last day of school for our kids and I think we are all relieved. I can totally understand how teachers feel when these breaks are approaching; it was very difficult to get the kids to focus today. I think they were just ready to be done, but we were so busy helping to get things done that we just kind of let them go. We did however have them take an assessment on the IXL program and we found that all the kids are actually performing above grade level already, so the stress of making sure they are on track has diminished quite a bit. We seem to be doing okay with their schooling and now we have an opportunity to work with them on getting ahead and focusing our efforts on them learning how to be responsible for their own work and asking for help when they need it. I would love for them to have a bit more independence, autonomy, and self-motivation in regards to their schoolwork.
I was able to find a bit of time today to just sit on my patio and do a bit of quite work on my blog while enjoying a carton of coffee. I really am missing good French Press coffee.
Later in the afternoon, Cathy and Pricilla taught me how to make an amazing Chickpea Salad with tomatoes, onions, peppers, cilantro, and seasonings. This salad is so fresh and tastes absolutely amazing. I can’t wait to make it back at home!
After all of the hard work that Uncle Rick has put into getting the pumps for the water tanks fixed, they broke again today and he is not sure when he will be able to get the parts needed to fix it. The parts are in Delhi and the driver that took Uncle John there was not able to get to the shop before they closed. The mission was faced with very little water pressure out of the few spigots that worked. After dinner Jeff and I filled up a bucket of water to take back to the room so we had a small supply for teeth brushing and flushing the toilet. What is so amazing to me is that prior to this trip this situation would have been enough to make me panic and stress-out, but after dealing with this very issue in Thailand already, I have learned to just roll with it. God places many challenges in front of us each day, but allowing anxiety and fear to take control only makes matters worse. When we are able to just sit back and enjoy the ride, it is amazing how easy it is to just take each challenge one step at a time and taking comfort in knowing that God will provide for our needs. I am confident that this situation is no different.
Sara's Daily Scripture and Journal 