Hook 'Em Horns!
I love football. And I really love Longhorn football. It's hard to miss big games, like today's Red River Rivalry game against Oklahoma. Last year I sat with a bunch of boarders in front of my computer screen and watched ESPN.com update the play descriptions. This year I got to actually watch the game! My brother and I had our webcams set up, and he just turned his towards the game on his tv so I could watch. So cool! It wasn't the prettiest game in the world, but I'm so glad I got to be a part of the sitting on the edge of my seat and holding my breath throughout the game. Technology is so cool!
Great day!
Today was such a full and fantastic day! Here are the highlights:
- One of the teenagers came to my classroom with my camera that I'd left at Fire by Nite on Friday, which I presumed was long gone. He saw it there and recognized it as mine, picked it up and held it for me over the weekend. I was so excited to see it in his hands this morning! And so very proud of his honesty and responsibility.
- I had a little send-off for most of my students as they embark on a four day school camping trip. I'm really excited for them, but admittedly sad to see them go. I'm going to miss them! Praying for a very safe trip with tons of fun adventures.
- With only four students left in class, I needed to be creative with my teaching. I don't really want to teach any new concepts to 1/5 of my class, so I decided to have some fun with them with a competitive game of Monopoly! (Hey, there's learning there...economics, math, business skills...) Sadly, I lost. But we had a great time!
- Every Monday afternoon I get to hang out with a bunch of teenage girls as we study the book, A Young Woman's Walk with God. I love this time with them and always feel so blessed afterwards.
- Two of the girl boarders and one of the boys came over to the house after school for a hilarious game of Spades. I love laughing so hard that my stomach hurts...something that happens often with these three. :) Sadly I lost this game too...badly...but at least we had fun!
- Theresa (my housemate), Ashley, Dietra (two of the interns), and I went to Audi Camp for some girl time and cafe mochas! It was such a nice little outing and I really enjoyed getting to know them more.
- Ashley and I hosted "Aerobics Night" in my classroom for a 30-minute workout with any of the boarders who wanted to come. We had a really good showing and collectively burned A TON of calories. So great!
- Now I'm ending my day by watching an episode of 24 before enjoying what will surely be a great night's sleep.
Inconviences/Prayer Needs
Things have been crazy around here lately. We have had four days without running water now (with the exception of maybe a couple hours a day). This combined with temperatures over 100 degrees makes for some very icky days. On top of that, our power will randomly go off sometimes, resulting in us not being able to use fans or air conditioners during that time. Did I mention triple digit temperatures?? Horrible. (Not that this is the first time we've had water/electricity drama. See this post and this one for more stories.)
Today we found out that our water tank was filled for us to have water for today so we could do laundry, dishes, etc. We were warned, though, that this water was river water and would not be suitable for drinking. Um, understatement. I'm not sure this water is suitable for anything other than flushing the toilet. I'm pretty sure there is more dirt than water in this liquid coming from our taps. Unfortunately I didn't study it close enough before doing laundry, and my beige sheets are just a tad bit more on the brown side now. We've been boiling the water so we can wash the dishes in it, and the jury's still out on whether there's any point in bathing with it. Will it cool us down? Yes. Get us clean? Don't think so.
On top of this crazy water issue (which by the way is affecting the entire village), we're also in the middle of an incredible vehicle crisis here at the mission. Two missionaries' cars are in the shop for repairs with no known completion time, Pastor Jerry's new jeep was involved in a terrible accident this week that totaled the jeep (but amazingly left its passengers unharmed), one of the mission vehicles was in a wreck the day before and another one needs to be put in the shop for something minor. It's crazy! Vehicles are precious here and it is such a burden when they are down. (I have some experience with this myself.)
Needless to say, we'd love your prayers! Both for the water and power situations to be fixed and for God to work out this vehicle crisis. The missionaries and staff also need prayer to remain content in this time and to stay focused on the ministry we are here for. All of these inconveniences are nothing to the Lord and I know He will bring good out of this time. Thank you in advance for your prayers!
Today we found out that our water tank was filled for us to have water for today so we could do laundry, dishes, etc. We were warned, though, that this water was river water and would not be suitable for drinking. Um, understatement. I'm not sure this water is suitable for anything other than flushing the toilet. I'm pretty sure there is more dirt than water in this liquid coming from our taps. Unfortunately I didn't study it close enough before doing laundry, and my beige sheets are just a tad bit more on the brown side now. We've been boiling the water so we can wash the dishes in it, and the jury's still out on whether there's any point in bathing with it. Will it cool us down? Yes. Get us clean? Don't think so.
On top of this crazy water issue (which by the way is affecting the entire village), we're also in the middle of an incredible vehicle crisis here at the mission. Two missionaries' cars are in the shop for repairs with no known completion time, Pastor Jerry's new jeep was involved in a terrible accident this week that totaled the jeep (but amazingly left its passengers unharmed), one of the mission vehicles was in a wreck the day before and another one needs to be put in the shop for something minor. It's crazy! Vehicles are precious here and it is such a burden when they are down. (I have some experience with this myself.)
Needless to say, we'd love your prayers! Both for the water and power situations to be fixed and for God to work out this vehicle crisis. The missionaries and staff also need prayer to remain content in this time and to stay focused on the ministry we are here for. All of these inconveniences are nothing to the Lord and I know He will bring good out of this time. Thank you in advance for your prayers!
Here's a picture of the water coming from our taps:
Two Months...This is going to be tough!
Oh my gosh, it's hitting me. Seriously. I am feeling the full weight of all the emotions that come with the words, "Two months." I just can't believe it! How did this time already get here? I feel like I will just blink and find that it's only one month left. Time is just flying by so quickly, and honestly I kind of want to put the brakes on a bit. I'm not ready. There's so much left to do. All those kids in my class who I've poured into for almost two years...I'm not quite ready to let them go. And these teenagers who've actually become friends of mine, not to mention all of the adults who've become my family. How will I leave all of this and walk away? Gosh, it's going to be so hard.
But I will do it, with the strength, the peace, and the joy that the Lord will provide. Thankfully, the kids, the teenagers, the adults, the country of Botswana...all of them belong to Him. They are safely in His care and I know He's going to continue the great work He's doing in all of them. Maybe I'll see some of it from afar. Maybe I won't see or hear from some of these people again until Heaven. Either way, I rejoice that God will not leave them. He loves them so much and will continue pursuing them for a deeper love relationship with Him. I was just one person in their lives. He will send more. And though they've blessed me more than I can possibly express, He will give me the strength to leave them in His hands and open my heart up for new relationships, for new students, for new youth to pour into, for new experiences and opportunities to share Him with others. The chapter is slowly coming to a close....but I know a new and exciting one will quickly follow. And praise God that He will hold my hand as He leads me into it.
Lord, give me all the strength I need, and please, please help me to make these last couple of months the most special, most precious ones yet.
But I will do it, with the strength, the peace, and the joy that the Lord will provide. Thankfully, the kids, the teenagers, the adults, the country of Botswana...all of them belong to Him. They are safely in His care and I know He's going to continue the great work He's doing in all of them. Maybe I'll see some of it from afar. Maybe I won't see or hear from some of these people again until Heaven. Either way, I rejoice that God will not leave them. He loves them so much and will continue pursuing them for a deeper love relationship with Him. I was just one person in their lives. He will send more. And though they've blessed me more than I can possibly express, He will give me the strength to leave them in His hands and open my heart up for new relationships, for new students, for new youth to pour into, for new experiences and opportunities to share Him with others. The chapter is slowly coming to a close....but I know a new and exciting one will quickly follow. And praise God that He will hold my hand as He leads me into it.
Lord, give me all the strength I need, and please, please help me to make these last couple of months the most special, most precious ones yet.
Ideas?
If you got to live in Africa for two months, what would you be sure to do? Planning for my last 60 days and am open to ideas. I also want to make sure I didn't miss anything I should have done. Can you believe I only have two months left?? I sure can't. I'm really hoping to make them count!
Praying for the Youth
My heart is burdened again for our youth. Sometimes I feel like youth ministry is like a roller coaster: up and down, up and down....But I know that these are God's kids and He is infinitely more interested in their lives than I am. He won't give up on them....so I can't either.
We've seen quite a bit of good lately. Here are some praises:
If you would like to begin praying intentionally with us for the youth in Botswana, specifically those we work with, please contact me to let me know and I will give you more specifics on things to pray for. We've prayed that this term would be the most powerful one of the year, and we still believe it will be. We've already seen God answer prayer in huge ways, and we believe so much more is yet to come!
We've seen quite a bit of good lately. Here are some praises:
- Matt, Kelly, and I have been investing in a group of eleven teens who we see great leadership potential in, as well as a heart passionate for the Lord. Our leadership meetings (held every other Saturday) have been wonderful and great encouragements to us. I'm so excited to see how God continues to work in them!
- Project 3:45 has been going for three weeks now and we are seeing good fruit already. (This is an initiative to get the kids reading their Bible every day.) Many of the kids have commented on how much they are loving reading the Word.
- Some of the youth who've been really resistant to the Lord this year are beginning to change. We see their hearts softening and their hunger for the Lord growing. So exciting!
If you would like to begin praying intentionally with us for the youth in Botswana, specifically those we work with, please contact me to let me know and I will give you more specifics on things to pray for. We've prayed that this term would be the most powerful one of the year, and we still believe it will be. We've already seen God answer prayer in huge ways, and we believe so much more is yet to come!
To blog or not to blog?
I've been wondering lately about the value of blogging these days. I'm not sure if many people are reading this or not, and wonder if Facebook, Twitter, and newsletters are better avenues for news and pictures. Just wondering. If there are any readers out there still, would you just let me know your opinion?
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