Settlling in

I was informed yesterday that the Sophomore class in Yap (my homeroom class) officially has a teacher!! I don’t know all the details yet but a teacher arrived that replaced the eighth grade teacher so that she could be the new permanent science teacher and sophomore homeroom teacher. I’m so elated! :) Please keep Yap in your prayers and also keep Leyah in your prayers as well. She is a sophomore in Yap and her father just past away.

The past weekend Wisconsin Academy had a spiritual retreat at Camp Wakonda. Most of the school went and it seemed to really affect the students in a positive way. This past week was week of prayer and many students gave their testimonies as well.

There are several of the girls who really like to hang out in the office and talk about things bothering them and just normal things happening in their lives. Then there are others who I don’t really see much of. They’re starting to get to know me better which is good.

Many students have been on ‘social’ lately. Social is when two people can not have any contact with each other until the allotted time is over. This usually lasts at least a week. I think the main reason they are put on social is because many of them don’t know where their boundaries should be set. It’s good that they can hopefully learn more about where they should be set while they are here.

The last week has been largely spent preparing for the mother-daughter banquet which will be held this Sunday by girls club. If anything, I know that I'm helping by giving the head dean some time to finally breathe. She's been worked to death the last semester and I'm glad I can alleviate her at least a little. It's been fun.

New Start

I was not able to start at WA as soon as I thought because they wanted me to start when second semester started rather than right after Christmas break. That gave me another two weeks with nothing to do but I was pretty productive by figuring out my class schedule and such for next fall. When people think of a Missionary they think of jungles and heat and different countries. I know that this is silly to think but I wonder if it's going to be as meaningful of an experience now. I halfheartedly even believe that I'm really a missionary anymore. I even wonder why I'm still blogging. Maybe God will teach me something that will wipe that idea from my mind.

After two and a half months I am so ready to do something organized. Of course I haven’t really had a chance get used to things yet but it’s really odd to have so much free time. In Yap I never had free time, ever. Now I have a couple afternoons off and every Wednesday off and then some weekends off and home-leaves and I feel kind of idle. I have many hobbies and things that I could do during these times but it’s been so long since I’ve really had a chance to do these things that I’m sort of at a loss of how to start them. I guess I should stop thinking about it and just do it.

I will miss the responsibility I had in Yap. I am staff here but I’m not in charge really so much and I think it might be easier to sit back and not use what I have. We’ll see what happens. I hope it’s not like that.

I think what I need to do is remember what I learned in Yap. People are pretty much the same everywhere. Just because this is a familiar setting doesn’t make it any less of a place to serve. I need to pray just as hard for God to be the center of what I’m doing. I need to give just as much. I need to trust just as much.

I think one goal that I have is to get to know each girl and talk to them individually on occasion. There were many students in Yap who I didn’t know so much because they kind of blended in and there were so many to get to know. I’m going to make it a point to take interest in each one more specifically.

As a side note I want to share a verse that stuck out to me a couple of weeks ago. I was reading Matthew chapter one and verse 21 says, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” The underlined phrase just stands out so strongly for me. He will save His people; we are His people. He will save us. He has saved us. We are saved. We are saved and we now have life! … I just love that.